 In 1507, Pietro Montaperto obtained the "ius populandi" (right to populate) from Ferdinand II, which enabled the expansion of the settlement and he began work renovating the castle and constructing a parish church, the .In 1649, Giuseppe Nicolò Montaperto intervened to quell a riot of the Agrigentines against Bishop Trajna, who had been blamed for a famine.As a reward for his courage and loyalty, Philip IV granted the Montaperto family the title of Prince of Raffadali.