Portopalo's castle

Type	Aerial view	Country	Date	Status	Rating
Private building	Here !	Italy	2006-10-09	Endangered	****

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Portopalo di Capo Passero, South-East Sicily. Following Alessandra advice, we discover this beautiful abandoned residence overlooking the sea from a magnificent cliff.

The castle on the cliff - Click to enlarge!

A Bit Of History

The castle was built by Mr Bruno. The Bruno's family owned the tuna cannery close to the castle (see photo below).

Tuna was the main source of wealth for the region. Tuna was fished in the traditional way, "à la mattanza".

In the village nearby, there was also a church from the XVIIth century and a school, which are still standing. The population was about 50 inhabitants, most of whom worked at the cannery.

The abandoned tuna cannery- Click to enlarge!

Greatness and decadence

In 1974, Mr Tafuri acquires the castle. He is pharmacist at Pachino, the next village. He plans to turn the residence into a luxurious hotel and restaurant.

Business is working pretty well. The Tafuri's castle thrives. Luxurious carpets, expensive paintings, precious armors. Tourism is growing fast. During the summer the region is overcrowded. Even in winter, the crowd does not decrease.

Mr Tafuri dies in 1990. Then a story that can be found on many pages of this website happens again: conflict between heiress, nobody to pay the caretaker, the guard... The castle is quickly looted and emptied, then squatted and vandalized...

Since 1998 the castle is for sale but has not found an investor yet...

Old postcard - Click to enlarge!

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