The fortress Le Castella on the Ionian Sea. Results of a diagnostic plan

For their specific defensive functions, castles are generally located in elevated positions, so that they can have a wide view of the surrounding territory and access routes of possible enemy forces and thus prevent incursions and prepare the local community to resist. However, there is no shortage of cases which differ in relation to the position on the territory. Among them the fortress placed on islets or beside the sea, as strategic sentinels. This article focuses on one of these structures, the fortress of Le Castella, located on the Ionian coast, in the municipality of Isola di Capo Rizzuto, in Calabria. Its origin dates back to the period of Greek colonization; the city of Kroton built a military outpost (phrourion), at the edge of the Poleis area of influence, given the strategic position, to ensure the defence of the territory. On that basis successive edifications were made; the complete structure dates back to the period of the Aragonese domination and is attributed to the king Alphonse V in the middle of the XVth century. The study is aimed at building an identity card of the fortress, for diagnostic purposes, paying particular attention to the anamnesis (historical and architectural analysis), to the results of a local survey useful for a deep description of the building, and to detect deterioration processes concerning structural components and constituent materials.