Castello di Maniace

Not to be confused with Castello Maniace.
The courtyard
Castello di Maniace, caput of the Dukedom of Bronte, situated 5 miles north of the town of Bronte. Viewed from north across the dried up river bed of the River Saraceno, with Mount Etna in the background (the main crater of which is 15 km to the south-east). Painted in 1876 by Sir John Walrond, 1st Baronet (1818–1889), son-in-law of the 3rd Duchess of Bronte. Royal Collection
Floor plan of Castello di Maniace

The Castello di Maniace[1] (or Castello Bronte and Castello dei Nelson 'Castle of the Nelsons') is a manor house built on the site of a former ancient monastery 3 km south of the centre of the small village of Maniace and 8 km north of the large town of Bronte, on the eastern foothills of Mount Etna. From 1799 to 1981 it was the seat of the Dukes of Bronte, English noblemen, the first of whom was Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson (1758–1805), in 1799 created Duke of Bronte by King Ferdinand III of Sicily and Naples. In 1981 the manor house and large estate was sold to the Commune of Bronte by Alexander Hood, 4th Viscount Bridport (born 1948), 7th Duke of Bronte, descended from the daughter of William Nelson, 1st Earl Nelson (1757–1835) 2nd Duke of Bronte, elder brother and heir of Admiral Nelson.

  1. ^ Castello di Maniace, spelling as given for residential address of Rowland Arthur Herbert Nelson Hood, 3rd Viscount Bridport, 6th Duke of Bronté (1911-1969) in Montague-Smith, P.W. (ed.), Debrett's Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage and Companionage, Kelly's Directories Ltd, Kingston-upon-Thames, 1968, p.174