Castle of Sant'Aniceto

The castle is a Byzantine building built in the early 11th century on a hill in Motta San Giovanni.

In the 13th century the castle became the command center of the flourishing fief of Sant'Aniceto (which included Motta San Giovanni and Montebello). Two centuries later, it was caught in conflict with Reggio Calabria, and in 1459 it was destroyed by Alfonso of Calabria.

The castle has an irregular plan, which reminds that of a ship with the bow directed towards the mountains and the aft to the sea.

Nest to the entrance are two square towers. At the feet of the short steep path leading to the plain below is a small church, which has a frescoed dome portraying the Christ Pantokrator, a typical subject^{[according to whom?]} of Byzantine Art.

The height of the well-preserved walls varies from 3 to 3.5 meters, and they are some one meters thick.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Castle of Sant'Aniceto.

• De Lorenzo, A. (1891). Le quattro motte esistenti presso Reggio Calabria (in Italian).
• Arillotta, F. (1998). La storia della Motta San Giovanni e del suo territorio (in Italian).
• Genovese, B.; R. Marino (2002). Castelli nella provincia di Reggio Calabria (in Italian).