Castello di Inici, Medieval castle in Castellammare del Golfo, Italy.
Castello di Inici stands on the southern slope of Monte Inici in the Val di Mazara, in the hamlet of Inici, Castellammare del Golfo. Its two courtyards are linked by a tower and a chapel; the second courtyard, flanked by stables and storehouses, appears on Samuel von Schmettau's 1720 map. The medieval tower collapsed in 1998.
The fortress was built before 1535 and served as a stopping place for Emperor Charles V on his journey to Palermo. In 1597 it became property of the Jesuits through a donation.
The name Inici comes from the mythical city of Inico, which historian Tummarello placed at the castle's site. In 1535 Emperor Charles V spent a night in the tower as a guest of Giovanni Sanclemente, his comrade at Tunis; a stream near an old olive tree where he rested was named Acqua dell'Imperatore. The poet Sebastiano Bagolino wrote verses about the visit.
The castle stands on the southern slope of Monte Inici, in the Inici locality of Castellammare del Golfo, and is reached by a minor road off the valley route. The complex is abandoned and unsafe: the medieval tower collapsed in 1998 and the 1968 earthquake left the two courtyards and chapel badly damaged. There is no visitor infrastructure, so go with local guidance and keep to the exterior.
The medieval tower that housed Charles V in 1535 collapsed in 1998, but the castle's two courtyards still show the layout the Jesuits gave it: a second court added beside the first, with stables and storehouses facing it, as recorded on Samuel von Schmettau's 1720 map.
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