MessinaCastroreale.
The Arabs built a fortress here, which was later enlarged by Frederick Il. The town grew around the fortifications, attaining its greatest development in the l5th and 16th centuries. The territory has been inhabited since very remote times, as testified by numerous archaeological finds.

Nearly all the churches present something of interest. The Chiesa Madre, in Piazza Mar- coni, is dedicated to Our I.ady of the Assumption: it was rebuilt in the 15th c. and altered in later centuries, particularly the 17th; the lateral facade, facing the fine belvedere dall'Aquila (view-point), has a fine marble portaI (1518). The church is Latin cross in design, with a nave and two aisles separated by columns. Here we can see a statue of Santa Maria di Gesu’ by Antonello Gagini (1501), a holy water stoup (1530), a carved choir (1612) and numerous paintings; the Treasury contains some interesting silver objects of religious significance. By way of a series of stairways leading from Via Trieste to Via Cesare Battisti, we come to the 17th c. Collegio dei Cappuccini, with the Chiesa di Santa Maria delle Grazie, which has a fine 16th c. painting, the Madonna delle Grazie, over the high altar. From Via Guglielmo Siracusa, the main thoroughfare of the ancient street layout, we come to the 16th c. Chiesa di Santa Marina, which incorporates in its structure a mediaeval tower. Nearby is the Chiesa di Sant' Agata, built in the 15th c. and altered in the 16th. It contains a number of excellent sculptures: The Annunciation, by Antonello Gagini (1519), a 17th c. crucifix made out of papier-mache’, and a statue of St Agata, by Giovanni Angelo Montorsoli (1554). Also in Via Siracusa we find the Oratorio di San Filippo, with a fine 17th c. portaI surrnounted by a balcony with animal-shaped corbels (sea-horses, lions). This building is now the Museo Civico, which possesses numerous paintings and statues by well-known, barely known and even completely unknown artists. We next come to a square where we can see the Chiesa del Santissimo Salvatore, the Monte di Pietà, and the Town Hall. There is a beautiful 17th c. carved wooden altar in the Chiesa della Candelora, in Piazza Garibaldi. Just beyond the San Biagio area there are the ruins of a Ist c. AD Roman Villa, with paintings and floor mosaics of considerable artistic value.