World Prisons
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Italy · Messina

Mategriffon

Low
Verified
Aging · 5mo ago
Sources last reviewed on

Data is aggregated from public sources and may be incomplete or out of date. Always verify with primary sources before acting on any figure. See data sources.

For families

How to send mail, money, and visit Mategriffon

Step-by-step guidance using the Italy system — addresses, money services, visit booking, what to bring on your first visit.

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Photograph of Mategriffon

Gallery

From Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-SA where not otherwise stated).

  • Carcere Roccaguelfonia Messina 28-10-2024.jpg

    Photo by Jeanne Griffin via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

  • Castello Matagrifone Messina 15-02-21.jpg

    Photo by Jeanne Griffin via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

  • Castello Matagrifone Messina gate 20-2-23.jpg

    Photo by Jeanne Griffin via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

  • Copy Messina Matagrifone Castle 15-02-21.jpg

    Photo by Jeanne Griffin via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

  • Matagrifone Castle 2 Messina 13-3-2021.jpg

    Photo by Jeanne Griffin via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

  • Matagrifone Castle 2 Messina 15-2-2021.jpg

    Photo by Jeanne Griffin via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

  • Matagrifone Castle 3 Messina 15-2-21.jpg

    Photo by Jeanne Griffin via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

  • Matagrifone Castle 4 Messina 15-2-2021.jpg

    Photo by Jeanne Griffin via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Background

Mategriffon or Matagrifone or Mathegriffon or Rocca Guelfonia was a medieval castle in Messina, Sicily, located in what is today Viale Principe Umberto. Its strategic position upon a rocky hill close to the historic city centre gave a commanding view of the harbour and Strait of Messina. In the 19th century it was converted into a prison. Prior to its destruction in the 1908 earthquake it comprised a square dungeon with ramparts and reinforced by polygonal towers. Only an octagonal tower remains standing and is incorporated into the 20th century Shrine of Christ the King church, a visible Messina landmark which dominates its skyline.

Source: Wikipedia article lead, CC-BY-SA.

Capacity

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Current population

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Occupancy

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Year opened

1061

Operational

Figures from official sources · verified 29 May 2026 · methodology

Facility profile

Operator

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Population held

Mixed/unknown

Opened

1061

Region

Messina

Security level

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Death-row facility

No

Conditions

No conditions summary available yet.

Visiting

No visiting information available.

Mailing

No mailing information available.

Practical info

Contact the operator's website for inmate-specific procedures.

Known issues

No major issues documented in our database.

Contact & address

No public contact details available.

Conditions Risk Score

Derived signal — not a judgement. How it's calculated

—
Insufficient data
We don't have enough public data on this facility to score it. Have something to add? Send us a correction.

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Data completeness

16%

How many of our profile fields are populated. We surface this so families and researchers know the limits.

Sources

Cite this page

Under CC-BY-4.0. Include the URL and access date; the site is a living reference and entries can change.

APA
World Prisons. (2026). Mategriffon. Retrieved October 20, 2026, from https://worldprisons.com/prisons/mategriffon
Chicago
"Mategriffon." World Prisons. Accessed October 20, 2026. https://worldprisons.com/prisons/mategriffon.
BibTeX
@misc{worldprisons-mategriffon,
  author = {{World Prisons}},
  title = {Mategriffon},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://worldprisons.com/prisons/mategriffon},
  urldate = {2026-10-20}
}