Castello Normanno di Squillace. The Castle in Squillace, Calabria, Italy

There are castles everywhere in Italy. And I’m not sure what it is, but every time I visit one, I’m swept up in its history and legends. When visiting castles, it’s almost surreal to imagine how old they are and what life was like in these places centuries ago The History This Byzantine castle was built on the ruins of a monastery when the Normans conquered Squillace in 1044. Throughout the years it was conquered and ruled by various families – one of which being the Borgia family. The Borgia family was an Italian-Spanish noble family that become prominent during the Italian Renaissance. Between 1494 and 1735, Squillace was governed by the Borgia Princes. In 1599, a famous philosopher from Stilo, Tommaso Campanella, was imprisoned and awaiting trial for attempting to cause a revolt against the Spanish. In 1793, an earthquake severely damaged parts of the castle but that didn’t stop King Giuseppe Bonaparte (Napoleon’s older brother – the King of Naples and Sicily, and later King of Spain), from turning the castle into a prison which remained this way until 1978. Created by InShot:https://inshotapp.page.link/YTShare