Castello di Santa Lucia del Mela, Medieval castle in Santa Lucia del Mela, Italy

Castello di Santa Lucia del Mela is a stone fortress on Mount Mankarru featuring a cylindrical tower and underground chambers overlooking the Floripotema and Mela rivers. The structure was later transformed into a religious sanctuary, blending both defensive and spiritual functions.

The site began as a Greek-Siceliot settlement with classical-era walls, later a Roman castrum and a Byzantine stronghold called Mankarru. In the 11th–12th centuries the Normans built a keep, and Frederick II of Swabia turned it into a royal residence used for hunting. In 1673 part of the north-east tower was demolished to build the Sanctuary of the Madonna della Neve.

The castle's name comes from Saint Lucy, to whom the town is dedicated, and its sanctuary, built in 1673, is dedicated to the Madonna della Neve. A street in the historic centre is named after Pier della Vigna, the emperor's protonotary, who, according to local tradition, was imprisoned in the cylindrical tower.

The castle stands on the summit of Colle Mankarru above the Floripotema and Mela streams, reached on foot through the town of Santa Lucia del Mela. The cylindrical tower's lower chamber, uncovered in 1967 during restoration work, is reached by a narrow internal passage. Parts of the complex were assigned to the seminary after the 1695 restructuring, so some wings are not open to casual wandering.

In the lower room of the cylindrical tower, uncovered in 1967 during restoration work, tradition places the long imprisonment of Pier della Vigna, Frederick II's protonotary accused of treason. A street in the historic centre is named after him, and Dante recounts his unjust condemnation.