The Cruyllas Castle is located in Calatabiano, between Mount Etna and the Alcantara Valley, just a few minutes from Taormina and Naxos. A splendid location with a breathtaking view where history, design and technology are combined to offer hospitality to the most diverse types of events, from weddings to gale dinners, from company meetings to exhibitions.
Castello Cruyllas History
Within the walls of the Castle of Cruyllas the Calatabiano is contained the entire history of the Mediterranean populations: inhabited since prehistoric times, the presence of Greek explorers in the then territory of the Sicani was confirmed by the recent discovery of artifacts dating back to the fourth century B.C
The original fortress dating back to the Byzantine period was later used by the Arabs during their domination on the Sicilian land (827-1091 AD) that enlarged and fortified it. Even its name was born in the Arab period: Kalata-Bian or Castello di Biano, probably its first lord or regent.
The keep maintained its strategic importance also during the numerous disputes that contrasted the successive Norman and Swabian kingdoms for the control of the surrounding territory.
The period of greatest splendor of the Castle, however, came during the reign of the Aragonese, specifically under the dominion of the Cruyllas, a family originally from Catalonia arrived in Sicily in 1282 under the command of King Peter of Aragon. The Cruyllas restored the manor, rebuilding some of the rooms, repairing the chapel and building the large stone arch present in the larger room on which nine crocette (le cruyllas) are clearly visible.
After about a century in which the possessions knew periods of quiet and well-being, the Castle passed to the Gravina-Cruyllas, Princes of Palagonia who for centuries kept the land of Calatabiano in fief. After the tragic earthquake in 1693 brought devastation among the houses and collapsed the superstructure of the manor, began a period of decline and abandonment that lasted until more recent times when, after a long-term reconstruction, the Castle Cruyllas is back to fascinate its visitors thanks to the splendid panorama and the services of the highest quality offered.
A structure with unique charm, which combines history, elegance, technology and organization aimed at satisfying the most demanding requests. The Castle is in fact a privileged location from the dynamic reality, which reconciles its museum vocation with the organization of events and meetings: the rooms, immersed in atmospheres of the past, have the most advanced technologies able to accommodate up to 200 people while the external court is suitable for the realization of events in the summer with a capacity of 250 people.