Carafa Castle of Santa Severina

The Norman Castle of Santa Severina, also known as Carafa or of Roberto il Guiscardo, the Norman king who ordered its construction in the 11th century, is a castle in the town of Santa Severina.

The structure covers approximately 10,000 m² and overlooks the wide valley of the Neto river and the hills of the Marquisate of Crotone, near Crotone.

It is composed of a square keep and four cylindrical towers that are located on the sides of the castle; it is also flanked by four protruding bastions corresponding to the towers.

The castle houses the Museum of Santa Severina, which displays all the artifacts found during archaeological excavations together with archaeological materials and collections from the neighboring area, such as bronzes dating back to the 15th-8th century protohistoric period. BC, the castle also houses the Documentation Center for Calabrian Castles and Fortifications Studies and the MACSS, the Contemporary art Museum of Santa Severina.

Before the archaeological excavations, in the seventies, the castle was the seat of the male municipal boarding school, which housed about eighty students of the Diodato Borrelli high school-gymnasium.

Due to a lack of members, the college was forced to close and the municipal administration, in order to enhance the premises, thought of creating an important art gallery and organizing national painting exhibitions.