An industrial castle on the site of the ancient port of Hipponion
The castle stands on a very stratified site, which once hosted the ancient port of the Greek colony of Hipponion. The relationship between this area and the coastline has changed profoundly as it used to be much closer to the sea.
On the base of a temple, which archaeological studies have putatively identified as being dedicated to the goddess Persephone, a fortified monastery was built at the beginning of the Norman age, which was a feudal asset on the abbey of Miletus.
The construction of the castle however dates to the time of Aragonese domination, and was intended to strengthen the defenses at a point of maximum conflict with the Angevins. In that phase, the fortress took on its characteristic quadrangular perimeter with cylindrical towers at the top, with an independent building within, separated from the external edge of the walls.
Restored on several occasions even at the end of the fifteenth century, the fortress underwent a functional adaptation during the sixteenth century, becoming a place of sugar cane processing instead of a defensive garrison. This modification was introduced by the Pignatelli family, who promoted some changes to the structures for the mills and warehouses. Ettore, viceroy of Sicily, identified in the island a potential market, thus encouraging the resurgence of the commercial vocation that had characterized the Bivona area in ancient times.
After the earthquake of 1783, with the abolition of feudalism in the early nineteenth century, the castle fell into ruin. It has recently undergone conservative restoration.