Castello Aleramico

The Castello Aleramico faces onto the empty space of Piazza Garibaldi, its original features still discernible despite centuries of alteration. The façade is pierced by countless openings, many now bricked up, among which the outlines of the original great windows can just be made out. Below the roofline runs a saw-tooth cornice.

On the courtyard side, the ground floor retains a portico, partly walled in, with pointed arches resting on clustered pillars of brick and stone, their composite capitals now half-buried as the courtyard floor has gradually risen. In the space beneath the eaves, traces of fresco decoration remain visible, a reminder that the entire façade was once painted. This was a Norman fortress, built by rulers who knew how to make a statement of power in stone and paint, though time and repurposing have left it a fragment, stubbornly readable.

Description via source. Coordinates and heritage data from the Atika atlas.