U Carciri - Swabian Castle

"U Carciri". This is the name of this abandoned manor, the Swabian castle of Augusta, a symbol of the town of the same name in the province of Syracuse.

It was built by Frederick II in the 13th century, but unlike the other Frederick Castles "brothers" probably more fortunate in terms of care and maintenance, the fate of this castle was not so happy, as can be clearly seen from the deterioration that surrounds the structure, closed and rusted for decades, and submerged by thick and uncultivated vegetation.

they housed the "hopeless" condemned, that is, criminals destined for life imprisonment or in any case for long prison sentences.

After years of neglect and after having escaped the real risk of being demolished and completely razed to the ground, the castle was seized in 2016 by the Syracuse Public Prosecutor's Office and currently placed under the protection of the Syracusan Superintendency. The good news is that, according to recent press releases from the Department of Cultural Heritage and Sicilian Identity, work soon began for the restoration and structural consolidation of the Swabian Castle of Augusta which will become, by council decision, a new museum space. .