The Castle of Cleto in Calabria. Singular characteristics of a fortress

• Caterina Gattuso ^[1] ; Domenico Gattuso ^[2]
  1. [1] Calabria University, Rende (Cosenza), Italy
  2. [2] Università Mediterranea, Reggio Calabria, Italy
• Localización: FORTMED2023. Defensive architecture of the mediterranean : vol. XIII, XIV, XV / Marco Giorgio Bevilacqua (dir. congr.), Denise Ulivieri (aut.), 2023, ISBN 978-84-1396-129-3, págs. 1325-1330
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Located on the top of a hill, the Cleto Castle has features common to similar fortifications scattered acrossthe Calabrian Apennines, but it stands out by other singular interesting characteristics. In the paper, theseare highlighted through a specific illustration and some considerations relating to the conservation andpreservation of the building of undoubted historical-monumental value. From the historical referencesemerges a first character of the fortress, its construction by complementary parts in about 5 centuries, withdifferentiated construction techniques. The elevated position, dominating the surrounding environment,gives it a privileged lookout character, able to control a vast land, up to the sea more than 6 km away,and to prevent enemy incursions. The architectural and structural characteristics of the castle suggestan intermediate image between the simple wall fortification and the building closed on itself; differentcomponents clearly stand out such as two main towers, housing units, open spaces, mighty stone arches.A singular aspect consists in the presence of several cisterns and silos dug into the rock, used to ensure areserve of water and cereals, a considerable potential for resistance to external aggressions. Also importantis the urban relationship between the castle and the village below; the fortress appears clearly detached,but also closely linked to the village; moreover the same village was fortified with boundary walls and fewgates, creating a sort of double protective belt for the inhabitants. Another peculiar feature is highlighted:the castle stands on a rocky formation of arenaceous limestone, with layers of different cohesion, subjectto the erosive actions of the wind and rain, undermining the foundations. A safeguard action on the fortressrequires collaborative interdisciplinary knowledge and skills; the paper mentions some of the potentialneeds for conservative actions.