{"id":1029,"date":"2026-07-30T13:10:40","date_gmt":"2026-07-30T11:10:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/medievalsicily.org\/projects\/tre-cantoni\/results\/sociotopographic-interpretations\/"},"modified":"2026-07-30T13:10:40","modified_gmt":"2026-07-30T11:10:40","slug":"sociotopographic-interpretations","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/medievalsicily.org\/en\/projects\/tre-cantoni\/results\/sociotopographic-interpretations\/","title":{"rendered":"Sociotopographic interpretations"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Research results<\/a> \u00b7 subpage<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sociotopographic interpretations<\/h1>\n\n<\/div>\n\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n
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The Castello dei Tre Cantoni in Scicli \u2014 in light of the research conducted under the NCN OPUS 22 project \u2014 is interpreted as a local centre of power in Aragonese Sicily<\/strong>, whose main phase of use fell within the 14th\u201315th centuries. The combination of stratigraphic results, C-14 dating and the analysis of movable finds makes it possible to grasp its role not only within the County of Modica, but also in the broader context of medieval Sicily.<\/p>\n

The Castello as a local centre of power<\/h3>\n

Three lines of evidence point to the castle’s function as the seat of local power:<\/p>\n

1. Scale of the construction<\/strong> \u2014 its own building workshop (a lime kiln in Saggio 3) attests to a planned, organised campaign requiring economic resources unavailable to private investors. 2. Luxury imports<\/strong> \u2014 Valencian majolica and early Sicilian majolica indicate a social status of the residents\/users going beyond the purely functional level of a simple fortification. 3. Role within the defensive system<\/strong> \u2014 from 1346 onwards, the castle appears in the sources as part of the structure of the County of Modica; in the 16th\u201317th c. it retains a military role.<\/p>\n

The Castello in the context of other Sicilian centres<\/h3>\n
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[for editorial revision \u2014 comparison with other centres of the County of Modica and Sicilian castles of the 14th\u201315th c.: Lentini, Ferento, Caltagirone. In the brief, the client mentions preparing a comparative tile with the tower in Lentini]<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Reassessment of earlier hypotheses<\/h3>\n

The project’s most significant contribution to historiography is the questioning of earlier datings<\/strong> of the castle to the Byzantine period (after the 9th c.) or the Norman period (12th c.). The absence of stratigraphic layers from these periods in the main contexts of Saggio 3 \u2014 combined with unambiguous C-14 dating pointing to the 14th\u201315th c. \u2014 calls for a more cautious treatment of written sources such as Edrisi or later chronicles.<\/p>\n

This does not mean that the Castello dei Tre Cantoni did not exist earlier \u2014 the San Matteo hill was probably the site of earlier defensive structures (phrourion<\/em>, qal’a<\/em>) \u2014 but the present architectural and material layout of the castle<\/strong> is the work of the Aragonese phase.<\/p>\n

The Castello and the cultural network of the Mediterranean<\/h3>\n

Imports of Valencian ceramics indicate that the Castello \u2014 despite its peripheral location relative to Palermo and Messina \u2014 was integrated into the trade network connecting Sicily with Iberia<\/strong> during the Aragonese period. This observation fits into the broader discussion on the role of local centres in the economy of the Kingdom of Sicily under Aragonese rule.<\/p>\n

Topics for further discussion<\/h3>\n
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[for editorial revision \u2014 full interpretive synthesis in the project’s final monograph]<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n