Castello di Sant'Alessio Siculo, Medieval castle in Sant'Alessio Siculo, Italy.

Castello di Sant'Alessio Siculo is a fortified castle perched on a rocky cape between Messina and Taormina overlooking the Ionian Sea. The structure comprises two distinct towers positioned on separate peaks of the promontory, facing the open water.

The Romans established the first fortification on this site as they controlled Sicily's trade routes and coastlines. Later, it became strategically important when Sextus Pompeius based his naval operations here during his maritime campaigns across the Sicilian waters.

The name Sant'Alessio comes from the Greek-Orthodox saint to whom the Byzantine fortress was dedicated; a 1117 donation charter by Roger II of Sicily records the promontory as "Scala Sancti Alexi". Under Arab rule the cape was known as Ad Dargah, "the stair". The two small villages either side of the cape, Sant'Alessio and Santa Margherita, were administered by the castle's castellan.

The fortress remains under private ownership, so interior access is not permitted to visitors. However, you can view the structure from the water or nearby vantage points that offer clear sightlines to the towers and their position on the cape.

Two underground galleries start in front of the castle, run beneath it and end at openings in the rock face, one toward Messina and one toward Taormina. German troops placed two artillery batteries there during World War II. The buildings are now closed to the public and partly ruined.