Of the Luna castle, which once commanded Sciacca from above, only a few traces remain today — but its story is among the darkest in the town. Built by Guglielmo Peralta, count of Caltabellotta and one of the four vicars of the Kingdom of Sicily, it later passed to the Luna family when Margherita, the Peralta heiress, married count Artale de Luna, uncle of King Martin I.
What to see
The castle is bound up with the “Cases of Sciacca”, the bloody feud that for generations set two powerful local houses against each other: the Luna, of Aragonese origin, and the Perollo, of Norman stock. The clash was so violent that it nearly halved the town's population, and ended only in 1530. Of the original structures only scant remains survive today, on the same rise where the church of Santa Maria delle Giummare stands, once dominated by the fortress itself.
Our editors' tip
Don't expect an intact castle: you come here for the history rather than the walls. Pair the visit with nearby Santa Maria delle Giummare and the Basilica del Soccorso — together they tell the Norman and Aragonese Sciacca better than the castle's few remains do.