Misilmeri Castle

Misilmeri Castle, locally known as Castello Di Misilmeri or Il Castello dell'Emiro, lies in the town of the same name, in the Palermo province on the island of Sicily in Italy.

The village of Misilmeri was founded during the Arab occupation of Sicily and was called Manzil al Amir, probably meaning something like House of the Emir. On the site of the present castle probably stood some kind of large house with an agricultural purpose, protected by a wall and probably a tower.

In 1069 the Norman King Roger I of Sicily routed the Muslims in the area of Misilmeri. The first mention of a castle was in 1150 by Muhammad al-Idrisi, a Muslim scholar at the court of the Norman King Roger II of Sicily.

In 1374 Misilmeri Castle was owned by Manfredi III Chiaramonte. He enlarged the castle substantially. In 1392 the castle was granted William Raymond III Moncada. In 1398 the castle passed to Gispert Talamanca.

In 1487 Guglielmo Ajutamicristo became Lord of Misilmeri. And in 1539 the castle and estate were bought by Francesco del Bosco.

Later Misilmeri Castle fell into disuse and was used as a quarry for building materials by the locals.

Misilmeri Castle is freely accessible. A nice castle ruin, although somewhat too neatly plastered, for my taste, during a restoration in 2009.

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