The Arghennon Akron and the Castle

Audioguide created in collaboration with the students of "A. Gussio" scuola secondaria di primo grado Sant'Alessio Siculo.

Narrated by Vanessa Rifatto.

Raise your eyes towards the promontory above you, now lower them to admire the see and, in particular, the rock that you have in front of you.

Now, close your eyes and just listen to the sea.

The sound of the sea is rapidly taking you back in time.

Here we are.

We are in 734 BC. In front of you there are Greek ships, led by Theocles, who, just in a few days, will found the first Greek colony in Sicily: Naxos.

He's not alone: with him there are settlers from Eubea, who, while looking towards this promontory, remembered their Motherland. They were looking at the promontory Capo Bianco and decided to rename it Arghennon Akron.

Arghennon Akron, or Silvery Cape, is a limestone block that rises above the sea.

Its ancient Greek name is known to us thanks to the geographer Ptolemy the Alexandrian and his impressive geographical work of the second century AD.

Slowly, you can now open your eyes.

Those same waves have caressed the promontory for centuries and dug three majestic caves on its flanks: the Grotta di terra, the Grotta di mezzo and the Grotta di punta.

During summer, those caves are a destination for the tourists, who can enter with small boats and admire them.

According to some writers, at the top of Capo Sant'

Alessio, at the crossroad towards Forza D'Agrò, was situated one of the Fauces Tauromenitanae (which were fortified and manned barrier walls)

that Appiano recalled in 36 BC, during the civil war. That war was unleashed by Rome, with the aim of reconquer Sicily. Pompey used those walls to forbid the access of the army of Lepidus from Africa and the army of Octavian from Calabria.

The origin of the castle is almost certainly Arabic, and it was an important garrison during all the subsequent dominations of the area.

In the nineteenth century, the castle belonged to the British. After a period of decay, it was acquired by the State, auctioned and bought by the Marquis Pietro Mauro, whose family still owns it and lives there.

There are plenty of tales and legends about and related to this Castle.

Among them, it is told that King Charles V was housed in the manor, after his returns from the War of Tunis against the Ottomans in 1535.