Castelbuono Castle

Castelbuono is a castle in the provice of Palermo, Sicily. The castle dates from 1316 and is surrounded by a town which grew up on the 14th Century.

Its construction began in 1316, by order of Count Francesco I of Ventimiglia, over the ruins of the ancient Byzantine town of Ypsigro, high on the San Pietro hill. Hence its original name, "Castello del buon aere" ("Castle of good air"), from which the name Castelbuono is derived - literally meaning "good castle".

Numerous drastic alterations were made in the 17th century. for reasons of accommodation, when a number of Ventimiglia families moved here from Palermo - the castle never served any really strategic purpose, owing to its geographic position down valley.