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Mategriffon
Mategriffon or Matagrifone or Mathegriffon or Rocca Guelfonia was a medieval castle in Messina, Sicily, located in what is today Viale Principe Umberto. Its strategic position upon a rocky hill close to the historic city centre gave a commanding view of the harbour and Strait of Messina. In the 19th century it was converted into a prison. Prior to its destruction in the 1908 earthquake it comprised a square dungeon with ramparts and reinforced by polygonal towers. Only an octagonal tower remains standing and is incorporated into the 20th century Shrine of Christ the King church, a visible Messina landmark which dominates its skyline. The name Matagrifone signifies "Greek killers" or "kill-Greeks" due to the population of Messina having been predominantly of Greek ancestry.The Castle - Federico itinerari dello stupore. www.federicoitineraridellostupore.it. Retrieved on 21-6-22 History Medieval Matagrifone was initially constructed as a wooden fortress in 1061 by the Norman ad ...
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Sicilian Vespers
The Sicilian Vespers ( it, Vespri siciliani; scn, Vespiri siciliani) was a successful rebellion on the island of Sicily that broke out at Easter 1282 against the rule of the French-born king Charles I of Anjou, who had ruled the Kingdom of Sicily since 1266. Within six weeks, approximately 13,000 French men and women were slain by the rebels, and the government of Charles lost control of the island. This began the War of the Sicilian Vespers. Background The papacy versus the House of Hohenstaufen The rising had its origin in the struggle of investiture between the pope and the Hohenstaufen Holy Roman Emperors for control of Italy, especially the Church's private demesne known as the Papal States. These lay between Hohenstaufen lands in northern Italy and the Hohenstaufen Kingdom of Sicily in the south; the Hohenstaufens also, at the time, ruled Germany. In 1245 Pope Innocent IV excommunicated Frederick II and declared him deposed, and roused opposition against h ...
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Messina Castello Di Matagrifone Rocca Guelfonia Torre Bastione Guelfonia
Messina (, also , ) is a harbour city and the capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of more than 219,000 inhabitants in the city proper and about 650,000 in the Metropolitan City. It is located near the northeast corner of Sicily, at the Strait of Messina and it is an important access terminal to Calabria region, Villa San Giovanni, Reggio Calabria on the mainland. According to Eurostat the FUA of the metropolitan area of Messina has, in 2014, 277,584 inhabitants. The city's main resources are its seaports (commercial and military shipyards), cruise tourism, commerce, and agriculture (wine production and cultivating lemons, oranges, mandarin oranges, and olives). The city has been a Roman Catholic Archdiocese and Archimandrite seat since 1548 and is home to a locally important international fair. The city has the University of Messina, founded in 1548 ...
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Ferdinand II Of Aragon
Ferdinand II ( an, Ferrando; ca, Ferran; eu, Errando; it, Ferdinando; la, Ferdinandus; es, Fernando; 10 March 1452 – 23 January 1516), also called Ferdinand the Catholic (Spanish: ''el Católico''), was King of Aragon and List of Sardinian monarchs, Sardinia from 1479, King of Sicily from 1468, King of Naples (as Ferdinand III) from 1504 and King of Navarre (as Ferdinand I) from 1512 until his death in 1516. He was also the nominal Duke of the ancient Duchy, Duchies of Duchy of Athens, Athens and Duchy of Neopatras, Neopatria. He was King of Castile, King of Castile and León (as Ferdinand V) from 1475 to 1504, alongside his wife Queen Isabella I. From 1506 to 1516, he was the Regent of the Crown of Castile, making him the effective ruler of Castile. From 1511 to 1516, he styled himself as Imperator, ''Imperator totius Africa'' (Emperor of All Africa) after having conquered Kingdom of Tlemcen, Tlemcen and making the Zayyanid dynasty, Zayyanid Sultan, Abu Abdallah V, his v ...
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History Of Chess
The history of chess can be traced back nearly 1500 years to its earliest known predecessor, called chaturanga, in India; its prehistory is the subject of speculation. From India it spread to Persia. Following the Arab invasion and conquest of Persia, chess was taken up by the Muslim world and subsequently spread to Spain and the rest of Southern Europe. The game evolved roughly into its current form by about 1500 CE. " Romantic chess" was the predominant playing style from the late 18th century to the 1880s. Chess games of this period emphasized quick, tactical maneuvers rather than long-term strategic planning. The Romantic era of play was followed by the Scientific, Hypermodern, and New Dynamism eras. In the second half of the 19th century, modern chess tournament play began, and the first official World Chess Championship was held in 1886. The 20th century saw great leaps forward in chess theory and the establishment of the World Chess Federation. In 1997, an IBM super ...
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Buildings And Structures In Messina
A building, or edifice, is an enclosed structure with a roof and walls standing more or less permanently in one place, such as a house or factory (although there's also portable buildings). Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and functions, and have been adapted throughout history for a wide number of factors, from building materials available, to weather conditions, land prices, ground conditions, specific uses, prestige, and aesthetic reasons. To better understand the term ''building'' compare the list of nonbuilding structures. Buildings serve several societal needs – primarily as shelter from weather, security, living space, privacy, to store belongings, and to comfortably live and work. A building as a shelter represents a physical division of the human habitat (a place of comfort and safety) and the ''outside'' (a place that at times may be harsh and harmful). Ever since the first cave paintings, buildings have also become objects or canvasses of much artist ...
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Castles In Sicily
A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble. This is distinct from a palace, which is not fortified; from a fortress, which was not always a residence for royalty or nobility; from a ''pleasance'' which was a walled-in residence for nobility, but not adequately fortified; and from a fortified settlement, which was a public defence – though there are many similarities among these types of construction. Use of the term has varied over time and has also been applied to structures such as hill forts and 19th-20th century homes built to resemble castles. Over the approximately 900 years when genuine castles were built, they took on a great many forms with many different features, although some, such as curtain walls, arrowslits, and portcullises, were ...
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Principality Of Achaea
The Principality of Achaea () or Principality of Morea was one of the three vassal states of the Latin Empire, which replaced the Byzantine Empire after the capture of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade. It became a vassal of the Kingdom of Thessalonica, along with the Duchy of Athens, until Thessalonica was captured by Theodore, the despot of Epirus, in 1224. After this, Achaea became for a while the dominant power in Greece. Foundation Achaea was founded in 1205 by William of Champlitte and Geoffrey I of Villehardouin, who undertook to conquer the Peloponnese on behalf of Boniface of Montferrat, King of Thessalonica. With a force of no more than 100 knights and 500 foot soldiers, they took Achaea and Elis, and after defeating the local Greeks in the Battle of the Olive Grove of Koundouros, became masters of the Morea. The victory was decisive, and after the battle all resistance from the locals was limited to a few forts that continued to hold out. The fort of A ...
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Barony Of Akova
The Barony of Akova was a medieval Frankish fiefdom of the Principality of Achaea, located in the mountains of eastern Elis in the Peloponnese peninsula in Greece, centred on the fortress of Akova or Mattegrifon (situated near Vyziki in the Tropaia municipal unit). It was among the twelve original baronies of Achaea, but was conquered by the Byzantines in 1320. History The Barony of Akova was established ca. 1209, after the conquest of the Peloponnese by the Crusaders, and was one of the original twelve secular baronies within the Principality of Achaea. Along with the Barony of Patras, Akova was one of the two largest and most important baronies of the Principality, with twenty-four knight's fees attached to it.Miller (1921), pp. 71–72 The barony's capital was the fortress of Akova or Mattegrifon (''kill Greek'', ''grifon'' being a Frankish term for the Greeks) built on the mountainous area known in the ''Chronicle of the Morea'' as Mesarea, separating Elis from Arcadia ...
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Castle Of Akova
The Akova Castle ( el, Κάστρο της Άκοβας) is a medieval fortification in Gortynia, Arcadia, Greece. The medieval castle, also known as Mattegriffon, is built on top of a steep hill, inaccessible from the three sides. The castle was the centre of the Barony of Akova, one of the most important lordships of the Frankish Principality of Achaea, established in the Morea after the Fourth Crusade. Below the castle are ruins of an unidentified ancient acropolis, possibly ancient Teuthis. For the last 40 years, Akova has been the site of a summer festival, involving theatrical plays and other cultural activities, hosted by the nearby village of Vyziki Vyziki ( el, Βυζίκι) is a mountain village in the municipal unit of Tropaia in Arcadia, Greece. It is located 85 km northwest of Tripoli, just off the midpoint of the national road EO74 which connects Tripoli to Pyrgos, and 2 km .... Sources * * {{coord, 37.7176, 21.9881, type:landmark_region:GR, ...
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Messina 5 Matagrifone Castle 15-02-21
Messina (, also , ) is a harbour city and the capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of more than 219,000 inhabitants in the city proper and about 650,000 in the Metropolitan City. It is located near the northeast corner of Sicily, at the Strait of Messina and it is an important access terminal to Calabria region, Villa San Giovanni, Reggio Calabria on the mainland. According to Eurostat the FUA of the metropolitan area of Messina has, in 2014, 277,584 inhabitants. The city's main resources are its seaports (commercial and military shipyards), cruise tourism, commerce, and agriculture (wine production and cultivating lemons, oranges, mandarin oranges, and olives). The city has been a Roman Catholic Archdiocese and Archimandrite seat since 1548 and is home to a locally important international fair. The city has the University of Messina, founded in 1548 ...
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Sicilian Revolution Of 1848
The Sicilian revolution of independence of 1848 ( scn, Rivuluzzioni nnipinnintista siciliana dû 1848) occurred in a year replete with revolutions and popular revolts. It commenced on 12 January 1848, and therefore was the first of the numerous revolutions to occur that year. Three revolutions against Bourbon rule had previously occurred on the island of Sicily starting from 1800: this final one resulted in an independent state surviving for 16 months. The constitution that survived the 16 months was quite advanced for its time in liberal democratic terms, as was the proposal of an Italian confederation of states. It was in effect a curtain raiser to the end of the Bourbon kingdom of the Two Sicilies which was started by Giuseppe Garibaldi's Expedition of the Thousand in 1860 and culminated with the siege of Gaeta of 1860–1861. The revolution Background The former kingdoms of Naples and Sicily were formally reunited following the 1815 Congress of Vienna to become the Bo ...
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House Of Bourbon
The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a European dynasty of French origin, a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Navarre in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Spanish Bourbon dynasty held thrones in Spain, Naples, Sicily, and Parma. Spain and Luxembourg have monarchs of the House of Bourbon. The royal Bourbons originated in 1272, when the youngest son of King Louis IX married the heiress of the lordship of Bourbon. Anselme, Père. ‘'Histoire de la Maison Royale de France'’, tome 4. Editions du Palais-Royal, 1967, Paris. pp. 144–146, 151–153, 175, 178, 180, 185, 187–189, 191, 295–298, 318–319, 322–329. (French). The house continued for three centuries as a cadet branch, serving as nobles under the Direct Capetian and Valois kings. The senior line of the House of Bourbon became extinct in the male line in 1527 with the death of Charles III, Duke of Bourbon. This made the junio ...
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