Description
In Sicily, the Aragonese Castle of Comiso is already mentioned in some documents of the 13th - 14th centuries and is described as "...feudum Comisi cum aliis fortiliciis et edificis ...," so even before the end of the 14th century Comiso was surrounded by solid walls all around the perimeter, and had towers and castle with moat in front. Around 1392 ownership of the castle passed from Federico Speciaro to the Cabrera counts, while in 1453 it was sold to Periconio Naselli, baron of Mastra, whose descendant Gaspare Naselli in 1571 was appointed count of Comiso by Philip I of Sicily. From then on for many centuries the castle became the permanent home of the Naselli family, until an earthquake in 1693 caused much of the castle to collapse except for the tower. Work to restore it continued until the early eighteenth century, but the transformation to a noble palace occurred when the viceroy Cristoforo Fernandez de Cordova arrived for a visit, staying there for some time with his entire retinue. At the time of the Bourbons, The castle remained abandoned, until in 1841, a part of it was turned into a theater, which later passed to the municipality, and the lower part was used as a magistrate's prison. In the present day the castle is owned by the Nifosì Family, descendants of the barons of Canalazzi.
On the east side of the castle we find the oldest part: a baptistery dedicated to St. Gregory the Great, with remains of frescoes from the Byzantine period and dating from around the year one thousand; octagonal in shape, the baptistery at the top becomes cylindrical in shape and is completed with an elegant dome. The northern part of the castle features an elegant Serlian three-mullioned window, better known as the Loggetta, reminiscent of the 16th-century style and featuring frescoed walls with landscapes and flights of birds; this loggia was added to the castle in 1728, designed by Michelangelo Canepa of Genoa. There are also two ogival portals, one of which is closed by a massive ashlar iron door dating from the 1400s; a splendid small fountain inserted in the wall and dating from the 16th century and attributed to Gagini or his school; and a richly carved local stone fountain shaft from around 1600, preserved in the inner courtyard.
The castle is located in the center of Comiso, majestic, almost as if from on high surveying the town just 15 minutes from the beautiful historic center of Ragusa Ibla, a short walk from the baroque town of Scicli and not far from the town of Modica. The last external restoration was carried out five years ago for earthquake retrofitting, but there would be so many things that would need professional intervention: from the wonderful ceilings, to the recovery of some period objects, to the frescoes in the baptistery.
The castle covers an area of about 1,300 square meters divided into several levels. On the second floor we find the luxurious main floor of about 600 square meters consisting of lounges and rooms with bathrooms and a kitchen area built by the current owners, frames the whole a wonderful "loggia" from which you can see the whole country. Above the royal floor insists the Tower, which constitutes an important portion of the palace still to be restored. On the ground floor we find an office and living area in the past were the stables. An external entrance leads to a large room about 200 sq. m. with barrel vaults, currently used as a restaurant, but at the time it must have been a shelter for horses and carriages. In the basement we find the castle's prisons, which can still be visited today and have artifacts from the 400s.
Outside we find a beautiful garden of 1,000 square meters that leads us to the oldest part of the castle, the small church from the Arab-Norman period.
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