In 1198, when he was less than four years old, the Staufer Friedrich II became king of Sicily. From 1239 to 1250 he had the castle Castello Ursino built. At that time it still lay directly at the sea, but in 1669 the nearby Etna erupted. Liquid lava flowed to the Castell, flowed around it and separated the Castello Ursino from the sea without any particular damage. Today the castle houses the Museo Civico with an important collection of paintings.