CataniaAcicastello.
The town developed around the castle that was built
by the Normans in 1076 and ceded by Roger n to the
Bishop of Catania; after the eruption of Etna in
1169, the population increased with the arrival
of inhabitants from neighbouring localities that
had been destroyed. The castle later became the
domain of Ruggero di Lauria and it was taken by
Frederick II of Aragon in 1397.
The castle, which originally was connected to the
mainland by a drawx bridge, is built in lava stone,
and it still has the massive aspect of a fortified
stronghold, rising sheer above the sea. It contains
the Civic Museum, which covers mineralogy, palaeontology
and archaeology.
