Nicastro

Nicastro stands above the plain of Sant'Eufemia in Calabria, with an old castle commanding the approach from the Tyrrhenian coast. The fortress grew under Norman and later rulers, while the town became the seat of a bishop. Its cathedral and episcopal palace lay outside the old town, part of a religious centre established in the Norman age. The castle above the town was repeatedly rebuilt and enlarged over the following centuries.

In 1638 an earthquake devastated Nicastro. The cathedral and bishop's palace collapsed, destroying valuable archives, and the castle also suffered severe damage. Bishop Giovanni Tommaso Perrone undertook the construction of a new cathedral for the damaged town. Another earthquake in 1783 damaged the old fortress again, contributing to its eventual abandonment.