The Castello di Milazzo is a sprawling fortified complex that covers the high ground above the old town — the largest in Sicily by area and one of the most stratified historically. Arab walls form the inner core; Norman builders added towers and expanded the circuit; the Spanish viceroys rebuilt the outer walls in the 16th century using the massive ashlar blocks that still dominate the approach from below.
Within the walls is a Spanish-era citadel (the Città Murata, or Walled City), essentially a separate fortified town inside the castle, with a cathedral, streets, and traces of a population that lived here until the 19th century. The views from the ramparts on a clear day reach across to the Aeolian Islands — Lipari and Vulcano are closest, with the cone of Stromboli visible in the distance when conditions are right.
Entry to the castle grounds is charged. Guided tours of the Città Murata are available and worth taking — the site is too complex and layered to make full sense of without some explanation.