Perched on a tuffaceous cliff on the Alacantara valley, Castiglione di Sicilia was originally founded by the inhabitants of Naxos and, subsequently destroyed by Dionisio I, tyrant of Syracusan. It was successively ruled by the Roman, the Byzantine, the Norman and the Swabian.
Its name derives from the latin Castrum Leonis, meaning Castle of the Lion, referring to an ancient ruined castle.
Architecturally, the most interesting monuments are the XVII century Chiesa Madre, preserving the original apse of the ancient Norman Church, the Chiesa di Santa Domenica typically Byzantine, and the Chiesa di S. Antonio Abate that has a beautiful Byzantine dome preserving a polychrome marble altar.