Castello dei Conti (Castle of the Counts) is a fortress in Modica, located on a rocky spur in the historical center of the city. For centuries, the castle was the seat of political and administrative power of the County of Modica. SHORT HISTORY The Castle of the Counts is mentioned for the first time in a papal bull dated August 21, 1255. Then, in 1272, the castle appears on the list of the Sicilian state castles (Statutum Castrorum Siciliae) made for Charles I of Anjou, King of Sicily between 1266 and 1285. In 1366, Count Matteo Chiaramonte received here the visit of King Frederick IV of Aragon and, in 1401, Count Bernardo Cabrera welcomed the King of Sicily, Martin I. Starting with 1361, the castle became the seat of the Grand Court of Justice. With the city becoming the Capital of the District of the Intendancy of Syracuse, the seat of all the offices remained in the castle until 1865. With the Unification of Italy in 1861, the religious orders were expelled from their convents and monasteries, and Castello dei Conti was definitively abandoned, transfering the Prison, the Court and the District Offices to the nearby convents that became Read more [...]
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