Castello di Santo Niceto (o Sant'Aniceto)
St. Aniceto's Castle owes its name to the locality near Motta San Giovanni (RC) where it is situated on a gently sloping plateau. This strategic position allowed, in Medieval times, control of salt and on the Strait of Messina. The original center was built for defensive purposes in the eleventh century and, in 1268, for the first time, mentioned by the nickname of "castrum" (Angevin name). Under the Aragonese was subjected to numerous jobs and later annexed in Reggio Calabria, in 1459. Recently restored, the complex is today in a piecemeal: the irregular plant of the fence demarcating the area of the remains, which reads a tower containing a scarp cistern for rainwater collection, a sacred building and a building inside the village walls. The palace had a very elongated rectangular plant and an attached tower. There is no trace of private building, that probably stood in the city, except for activities of officials and troops. The front door, with a round arch, was wedged between two monumental square towers, implanted directly on the rock. The tower on the right holes in the wall designed to accommodate the floor of a second floor (now lost); the left one is accessed by a stone staircase that leads directly upstairs. Today, some open spaces and the central building hosts artistic and cultural events.
* F. Martorano, Santo Niceto. La storia e il restauro, 2013
* F. Arillotta, La storia della Motta San Giovanni e del suo territorio, 1998
