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One of the most important sights in Augusta is the Castello Svevo, or Hohenstaufen Castle, built for Frederick of Hohenstaufen. This military complex, which measures 62 meters on each side and has eight towers, seems to have been built over a pre-existing watchtower that dated to Norman times. Work on the fortress, which was meant to dominate both land and sea, was begun in 1232 and finished in 1242. The castle became the center of the city’s life and was involved in all of its most important historical events, especially the battle between the Anjou family and the Aragon family for dominion over Sicily.

In the 15th century, the castle was renovated and adapted to new methods of waging war, while the 16th century saw the construction of four bastions that had the function of defending the castle and the moat as pre-wall structures. In the 19th century, it was a Bourbon stronghold against the Napoleonic invasion and housed a contingency of 4000 English men. The castle was later home to a prison and housed the authors of the anti-Bourbon rebellion of 1841. It was then transformed, in 1870, into a solar observatory, only to be re-transformed into a prison at the end of the 19th century. Today, it is in a deplorable state.

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