Difesa, governo, residenza: i castelli reali nel sistema delle fortificazioni di Palermo durante l'età degli Asburgo (XVI - XVII secolo)

Abstract

After the handing of the Crown of Sicily to the Habsburg dynasty and the riots that followed, in 1517, for safety reasons, the residence of the Viceroy in Palermo was moved from the Chiaromonte palace to the "Castello a mare". Subsequently, in 1553, the viceroy Juan de Vega decided to move from the "Castello a mare" to the castle of St. Peter, the ancient norman palace on the opposite side of town; one of the first interventions that were made was the construction of a large bastion at the foot of the palace, facing the country and connected to the circuit of the city walls. In 1648, after the bloody riots of the previous years, another two bastions were built at the foot of the palace complex facing the city, indeed "against" city, determining the appearance of the royal square for the following centuries.