Castello di Sperlinga
The medieval village of Sperlinga takes its name from the Greek phrase for cavern, due to the fact neighborhood settlers carved their homes into the rock. The castle, too, is nearly absolutely excavated from the sandstone spur around which the town sits. In prehistoric instances, the rock changed into excavated for tombs, and whilst the Normans arrived, they persisted the exercise on a grander scale to create their almost impregnable fortress.
It's miles a complex protecting machine, with traditional medieval towers and crenellations, cisterns for rainwater, passageways, and hidden storehouses for food, all integrated into the rock or constructed upon it, so that it's difficult to understand wherein the fortress ends and bedrock starts.
The entrance is across a drawbridge, and there are mystery tunnels to allow get away all through a siege. A flight of stairs carved into the rock connects the residing quarters with the shielding positions.
Leonforte
The form of Palazzo Branciforte is visible some distance far from the tiny village of Leonforte, simply beneath it on the 600-meter-excessive hilltop. The palace that fills one entire side of a giant piazza is that of the village's founding family, and was built in 1611, about the time the city become founded.
In 1651, the Branciforte own family added the grand Baroque fountain of golden limestone, with two dozen spouts and a row of arches crowned by the circle of relatives's crest.
Villaggio Bizantino di Vallone Canalotto (Byzantine Village)
One of the least-acknowledged places to visit, this complete village of cave houses is some kilometers north of Enna. The village turned into lively whilst Sicily changed into part of the Byzantine Empire, from ad 535 to 827, and the houses and other troglodyte areas had been placed to form a castle within the rock outcrop.
On a tour, you'll see places of worship, burial rooms, locations wherein crops had been processed and channels for a water supply. The caves are at exclusive tiers, and the trails are stony and hard, so wear strong on foot footwear.
Admission is unfastened, but it is an amazing idea to ebook in advance to make certain of a volunteer guide (your resort or B&B can do that when you have trouble with the Italian-best website). They deliver an awesome picture (in English) of this village and the individuals who lived and worked in these caves 1,500 years ago.
Castello di Lombardia
The Castello di Lombardia is one of the brilliant Sicilian fortresses, named either for the Lombard queen of the Norman king, Roger I, or for the garrison of Lombard infantrymen who guarded it. The fort shows Byzantine, Norman, and Hohenstaufen elements, reflecting numerous proprietors. Frederick III of Aragon delivered residing quarters around one of the 3 courtyards.
Six of the original 20 towers continue to be, the maximum whole of that's called la Pisana, topped through rectangular crenellations. The perspectives from the pinnacle of the tower embody the Sicilian mountain degrees and Mount Etna.
On the southern aspect of the castle are tombs carved into the rock, and to the north rises the Rocca di Cerere, on which there was a famous shrine of Demeter that dated back to pre-Greek instances.
Torre di Federico
In a public lawn inside the southwest of Enna, the Torre di Federico stands alone on a hill. The octagonal tower, surrounded by a in part preserved octagonal perimeter wall, dates from the time of the Emperor Frederick II.
The tower is 26 meters excessive and 17 meters in diameter, with stone partitions 3-and-a-half meters thick. Inside the wall is a gap wherein there was a spiral staircase leading as much as the 2 upper testimonies. Both fundamental flooring have astounding rooms with ribbed vaulting in eight sections.
The Archeological Park of Morgantina
Morgantina is notion to were settled via colonists from relevant Italy round 1300 BC, however it's miles sure that the Greeks took over the town six centuries later. After sacking it during the Punic Wars in 213 BC, the Romans rebuilt it, and Morgantina became a rich city. Round 30 BC, it turned into once more destroyed and this time abandoned.
Today, it's far an intensive archeological park, wherein you could nevertheless see the mint for which it became famed within the historic world, together with a Greek amphitheater relationship from the 1/3 century BC and ruins of a temple dedicated to Demeter and Kore.
Finds from the web site are displayed in the museum at Aidone close to the archeological website online. The most first-rate of those are the incredible silver dishes and different pieces crafted here approximately three hundred BC and adorned with figures from mythology.
