Landmarks in Calabria

Since Norman times, with the increase of Muslim and pirate raids, a great many fortifications began to be built in privileged positions, with the twofold function of sighting posts and strategic defence. An important turning point came when the last of the Normans, Constance d'Hauteville, married Henry VI of Swabia. The new dynasty introduced a different construction technique of castles: usually with square or rectangular plan, the Swabian castles had towers at the corners.