The Norman castle
(Centre of Caulonia)

The castle, which according to some, gave its name to the town and whose founder is unknown, was the residence of Malgeri d’Altavilla. Built in Norman style, it was subsequently lived in by the Carafa family. Following the transfer to Naples of the last Marquis Carlo Maria Carafa, the ancient fortress became the premises of the ruler of the time until the earthquake which shook Calabria in 1783 reduced it to terrible condition. “The castle had an irregular external layout, partly surrounded by a hand dug moat, fortified with a scarp and a counter-scarp, surrounded by large towers and, in the front quarters, strengthened by stone barriers and iron gates”. It also had soldiers and artillery men who were able to resist even well organised enemies. The castle was separated from the square by a hand dug trench: the connection was made using a draw bridge. The castle, a real fortress with moats, draw bridges, its curtains and ramparts and its parade ground, had spacious courtyards and rear courtyards, a decorative church, many rooms permitting the soldiers and servants to live comfortably and huge store rooms for the conservation of food supplies.
In April 1842, the ruins of the castle seemed to belong to a certain Ilariantonio Taranto who, after having filled up the moat and fixed the drawbridge, installed a silk spinning machine, which did not last long. In 1897 the ruins of the castle, passed on to new owners (the Gallo family), then to the Scalisi family and so on until the D’Amato family, who today, still live in the shade of the Norman fortress.