Castello Arabo-Normanno

Tyrrhenian Coast


Perched north of town at a height of nearly 1000m, the ruins of Mistretta's 11th-century Norman castle make an atmospheric spot to survey the old town's huddle of stone houses and the surrounding patchwork of fields and rolling hills. First mentioned in historical accounts dating to 1083, the castle nowadays is a crumbling shell of its former self, but the views are lovely, and the evocative approach through Mistretta's narrow stone streets is reason enough to make the climb.