Aci Castello () is a ''

comune A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...

'' in the

Metropolitan City of Catania The Metropolitan City of Catania () is a metropolitan city in Sicily, Italy. Its capital is the city of Catania. It replaced the province of Catania and comprises the city of Catania and 57 other communes. It has 1,068,563 inhabitants as of 2025 ...

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. Located north of

Catania Catania (, , , Sicilian and ) is the second-largest municipality on Sicily, after Palermo, both by area and by population. Despite being the second city of the island, Catania is the center of the most densely populated Sicilian conurbation, wh ...

on the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

coast, the city's primary economic sectors are agriculture and industry (in Catania). The city is surrounded by Aci Catena,

Acireale Acireale (; , locally shortened to ''Jaci'' or ''Aci'') is a coastal city and ''comune'' in the north-east of the Metropolitan City of Catania, Sicily, southern Italy, at the foot of Mount Etna, on the coast facing the Ionian Sea. It is home to ...

, San Gregorio di Catania and Valverde.

History

The town of Aci Castello developed around the castle, built in 1076 by the

Normans The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; ; ) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and locals of West Francia. The Norse settlements in West Franc ...

on the foundations of a 7th-century

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

fortification. Following the 1169 eruption of

Mount Etna Mount Etna, or simply Etna ( or ; , or ; ; or ), is an active stratovolcano on the east coast of Sicily, Italy, in the Metropolitan City of Catania, between the cities of Messina, Italy, Messina and Catania. It is located above the Conve ...

, which rendered nearby towns uninhabitable, Aci Castello started to expand. The castle later became the property of the bishops of Catania. In 1296,

Roger of Lauria Roger of Lauria (''c''. 1245 – 17 January 1305), was a Calabrian knight who served the Crown of Aragon as admiral of the Aragonese navy during the War of the Sicilian Vespers. He was probably the most successful and talented naval tacticia ...

, admiral of the Aragonese fleet during the

War of the Sicilian Vespers The War of the Sicilian Vespers, also shortened to the War of the Vespers, was a conflict waged by several medieval European kingdoms over control of Sicily from 1282 to 1302. The war, which started with the revolt of the Sicilian Vespers, was ...

, was granted the fief of Aci and its castle as a reward for his faithful service to King

Frederick III of Sicily Frederick III (also Frederick II, ', ', '); 13 December 1272 – 25 June 1337) was the regent of the Kingdom of Sicily from 1291 until 1295 and subsequently King of Sicily from 1295 until his death. He was the third son of Peter III of Ara ...

. When relations between the two men soured and di Lauria transferred his loyalties to the Angevins, the castle was besieged and captured by King Frederick and di Lauria stripped of his fiefs. In 1320, the castle and Aci were taken from Roger's descendant, Margaret of Lauria and given to

Blasco II de Alagona Blasco II Alagona (died 23 October 1355), called Blasco the Younger, was a nobleman in fourteenth century Sicily. Early life and family Born in Sicily in the late 13th century, he was the grandson and successor of Blasco I d'Alagona, Blasco the ...

. Whilst the latter was away defending

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

from the attacking Angevins, Bertrando di Balzo sacked Aci in his absence.

Main sights

* The Norman Castle, built from 1076 to 1081. It now serves as a museum. * The borough Aci Trezza with a beach * Church of St. Joseph (18th century) * Greek Necropolis

Sports

* Sporting Club Pallanuoto Acicastello

References

{{Sicily-geo-stub