Ursino Castle in Catania

Ursino Castle, known as Castello Ursino or Castello Svevo di Catania, is located in the province of Catania on the island of Sicily in Italy. The origin of the name Ursino is unclear

In the Middle Ages, the castle was referred to as Castrum Cathaniae, but was usually called Ursino.

The names sound different: from Castrum Ursus (Bear Castle), Castrum Sinus (Castle of the Bay) in honor of a certain Flavius Arsinius, a local ruler in 359 AD. But all these are hypotheses, and we'd rather take a walk around the castle. The building looks like a square fortress with round corner towers around an open courtyard.

I won't bore you with history, there was a lot going on. In 1669, during the eruption of Mount Etna, the city and the castle were in the path of large lava flows, but their ramparts and ditches saved them, diverting the lava into the sea. This happened more than once, because Etna is such a restless volcano. After 1860 the castle was used as a barracks. In the 1930s the castle was restored and turned into a museum.