TOWN MUSEUM OF URSINE CASTLE

Castello Ursino (the origin of the name is still uncertain) is located in the center of the large square dedicated to Frederick II of Swabia.
Frederick II entrusted the design of the construction to the "praepositus edificiorum" Riccardo da Lentini; in this regard, a letter isknown (November 17, 1239) in which the Emperor asks for information about the choice of the place where the castle could be raised.
Originally, the building stood very close to the sea and was surrounded by a moat and very advanced defensive works .
In recent years a series of explorationshave been organized that will expand the knowledge of all phases of construction.
According to Augusta G. Manuele (who has been in charge of the monument), the castle was built in a short time in order to keep the rebellious Catanese at bay: "The excavations of recent years," writes Manuele, "have brought to light a particular construction technique that consists in the construction of a first outer curtain wall made with square lava stone ashlars and arranged with regularity, a second inner curtain wall of less accurate workmanship and the connecting walls of the same, always of poor workmanship. The diversity of construction therefore finds justification in the haste Frederick had to complete the work."
The present appearance of the castle is profoundly different from the original one; the exterior was disrupted by the lava flow of 1669, which invested some areas of Catania and a large portion of the surrounding territory.
The tragic event is documented by the painter Giacinto Platania in a fresco that can be found in the sacristy of Catania Cathedral, where onecan also see the Ursino Castle with its ancient defensive works.
In the 15th century the castle was the seat of the Aragonese royal family; later it was used as a garrison and prison (graffiti of prisoners is preserved in the courtyard).
In the 1930s the building was restored; to this period dates the construction of the staircase inside the courtyard and the excavation of the outer pseudo-ditch.
In the inner, square courtyard are collected sarcophagi, columns, architectural fragments and obelisks that come from the monuments of ancient Catania.
The best-preserved facade is the one on the north in which are visible the marks left by Jewish, Christian and Arab workers who marked the daily work band with the symbols of their religious faith. Outside, on the east side, above a large window, stands a five-pointed star made of black and white stone, of Kabbalistic significance.

Lava:From Destruction to Construction "In the constructive revival of the Norman and Swabian ages the lava material is again in view, sometimes in sharply delineated outlines sometimes skillfully composed in the wall texture, as in the masti of Adrano, Paternò, Motta Sant'Anastasia and in the Castello Ursino where the use of lava stone also characterizes later remodeling or minor episodes , linked to the inspiration of the workers, who with lava pebbles inserted in the mortar draw religious symbols on the wall surfaces" (Claudia Guastella from La pietra di fuoco, 1994).