Enna is a city and province that is situated roughly in the centre of the island of Sicily; it towers above the surrounding landscape and has been nicknamed both ‘belvedere’, which means viewpoint and ‘ombelico’, which means navel. It is 931 meters above sea level and thus is the highest Italian province and capital.
There are many places to visit here and a trip to any Italian city would not be complete without visiting its cathedral. This one was built in the 14th century by Queen Eleanor, Fredericks the III’s wife. There is the Lombardy castle, which at one point had 20 towers, today only 6 remain, Torre Pisana is the best preserved of them. The Palazzo Varisano today houses the Regional Archaeological Museum with pieces that date back to the Cooper Age to the 6th century.
The Janniscuru Gate is the last reaming gate, out of seven, to survive to the present day and was one of the entrances into the old city. It is an arch that was built in the 17th century, which is situated in a beautiful natural area, which has rock grottoes.
Torre di Federico is an ancient octagon shaped tower that is said to have been the summer home of Frederick the II. It has two floors, both of which have lovely vaults and was at one point part of a larger building, the old castle.
Lake Pergusa is located between a group of mountains in the Erei chain and is about 5 km outside of Enna. The lake is important to migratory birds as many species use it on their travels. As well as birds, there are also many mammals, reptiles, insects and amphibians. The Autodromo di Pergusa is situated around the lake and holds events such as the Formula one, Formula 300 and the Ferrari Festival.
In this area there is also the archaeological site of Cozzo Matrice; it is the remains of an old fortified village where some of the remaining imposing walls date back as far as 8000 BC. There is a sacred citadel, a cemetery as well as the remains of the ancient temple that was dedicated to Demeter and dates back well over 2000 years.
The forest in the surrounding area is named Sevla Pergusina, which translates to Pergusa's Wood; this creates a wonderful backdrop to the scenery here and part of it actually surrounds the lake itself. Pergusa is linked to the ancient Greek myth of Demeter’s daughter Peresphone, who was kidnapped by Pluto.
Looking for self catering holiday accommodation in Enna? Then below is a selection of Apartments in Enna and villas in Enna that can be rented direct from their owners. You can either click on each listing for further details or you can use our search engine on the left if you are looking for something in particular.
