Castello Normanno, Medieval castle in Scalea, Italy

The Castello Normanno is a ruined castle on a rocky spur above Scalea, in Calabria. Only the perimeter walls and one tower remain of the Norman fortress built in the 11th or 12th century on the remains of a Lombard stronghold. A water tank for Scalea's first aqueduct was built among the ruins in 1908.

The Normans built the fortress in the 11th or 12th century on the remains of a Lombard stronghold. During Norman rule the brothers Roger and Robert de Hauteville met there to divide the Calabrian territories. It was later restored by the Swabians, the Angevins and the Aragonese, passed to the Sanseverino family around 1442, to the Caracciolo in 1501 and to the Spinelli in 1556, and was abandoned at the end of the 18th century.

The castle's name survives in the local variant "Castello Normanno", and a legend holds that it was linked by an underground passage to the Torre Talao on its sea rock. Since 1908 a water reservoir built among the ruins served as Scalea's first aqueduct, a practical reuse of the abandoned site.

The castle is a ruin on a rocky spur above Scalea, reachable only on foot; the perimeter walls and one tower remain, and a 1908 water reservoir was built among the ruins. There is no vehicle access, so wear sturdy shoes for the climb.

A legend holds that the castle was linked by an underground passage to the Torre Talao, the tower standing on the large rock by the sea below Scalea. No trace of the passage has been found, but the story is still told locally. Look for the 1908 water tank built among the ruins as Scalea's first aqueduct.