Castello di Milazzo, Medieval fortress in Milazzo, Sicily.

Castello di Milazzo is a fortified citadel on the southern summit of the Capo Milazzo peninsula, covering 7 hectares with over 12,000 m² of buildings. Its defences descend in concentric tiers: a Norman keep, Swabian square towers, the Aragonese wall with six semi-circular bastions, and the 16th-century Spanish wall. Inside stand the Old Duomo and Benedictine convent, with red-tiled roofs around a broad courtyard.

The site was first fortified around 4000 BC in the Neolithic, then became a Greek acropolis in the 8th or 7th century BC and a Roman and Byzantine castrum. The Normans built the castle, which Frederick II of Hohenstaufen extensively modified; in 1295 the Sicilian Parliament met here. Between 1496 and 1508 the Aragonese added walls with six semi-circular bastions, and from 1525 to 1540 the Spanish expanded the complex into a citadel.

The old cathedral inside the walls was built from 1607, and a Benedictine convent rose in the same years; the ruins of the Palazzo dei Giurati and of the earlier church of Santa Maria also stand within the enceinte. The cathedral and convent show that the fortified town housed religious communities, not only a garrison.

The climb starts from the Borgo Antico along Salita Castello, a steep paved route with uneven steps and narrow passages; sturdy shoes help. The site is exposed, with little shade on the walls and courtyards. The north-western side drops as a natural cliff, while the south-eastern walls face the town and harbour.

The fortress incorporates structures from seven different historical periods, from Neolithic foundations through Greek, Roman, and Norman buildings to Swabian, Aragonese, and Spanish constructions. This archaeological layering reveals the many occupations and rebuildings the site experienced.