The Fortress of Le Castella, located in the municipality of Isola di Capo Rizzuto, stands on a small islet at the eastern edge of the Gulf of Squillace. Connected to the mainland by a narrow strip of land, it is an integral part of the important environmental context of the Capo Rizzuto Marine Protected Area.

The earliest traces of occupation of the site date back to the second half of the 2nd millennium BC: archaeological research has uncovered ceramic materials attributable to phases of the Bronze Age. The imposing remains of a fortified military outpost (phrourion), largely incorporated into later medieval building interventions aimed at constructing the fortress, are instead associated with Greek occupation.

The first construction of the castle dates to the first half of the 13th century, while numerous modifications to the building can be dated to the end of the century, mainly due to phases of destruction and reconstruction linked to the events of the War of the Vespers (1282–1302). Archival sources attest, for example, that Ruggero di Lauria, admiral of the Aragonese fleet, besieged and sacked the fortress both in the summer of 1290 and in that of 1292.

In December 1444, when the castle was owned by Marquis Antonio Centelles, it was once again besieged and conquered by the army of Alfonso V of Aragon. It was precisely during the Aragonese period that the fortress assumed its present architectural form.

From the 16th century onward, the stretch of coast at Le Castella was the scene of Ottoman incursions, which significantly affected the state of preservation of the structures. This ultimately led, at the end of the 18th century, to the definitive abandonment of the islet.