Alarcon Castle

Among the best-preserved Spanish fortresses in Calabria, the Alarcon Castle in San Lorenzo del Vallo in the province of Cosenza certainly has a lot to tell! Let's start with the name: between the 15th and 18th centuries, the town was under the jurisdiction of the feudal family of Iberian origin, the Alarcon della Valle Mendoza. It was Don Andrea, in all probability, who had the castle of San Lorenzo del Vallo built as a private residence.

The Alarcon Castle stands on the highest point of the settlement, from which the owner could control his domains, which extended as far as the hamlets of Fedula and Jentilino. The Alarcon Castle is an imposing architectural complex with three levels and a quadrilateral shape, with four overhanging corner towers and swallow-tailed battlements.

After a period of neglect, the Alarcon Castle was acquired by the municipality of San Lorenzo del Vallo, which took charge of restoring it and had it declared a ‘’Property of Historical-Artistic Interest‘’. Today, the Alarcon Castle, with its ‘’carusièlli‘’ vaulted ceilings, typical of 17th-century Calabria, is an important architectural landmark for the area.