The castle of Lombardia: as ancient as the people of Sicily

Impressive and massive, it was built by ancient people who inhabited Sicily before the second millennium BC. Since then, it stands on a hill to protect the city. The castello di Lombardia could only be a stage of the tour to discover the most beautiful castles of Sicily.

The history

• The Sicanians (one of three ancient peoples of Sicily present at the time of Phoenician and Greek colonization) built a fortification to defend their land from the Sicilians. The important city of Henna was built around the fortification. At the foot of the castle was the fortress of Ceres, on which there were a temple dedicated to the goddess of the harvest.
• The Arabs rebuilt the fortress in the Tenth century, after the fall of the Roman Empire.
• Roger II of Sicily, in 1130, restored the Sicanian fortress. The origin of its name (“castle of Lombardy”) is the a large Lombard colony that settled here after the Norman conquest of the island.
• In the mid-Thirteen century, Riccardo da Lentini (a famous architect) built twenty splendid towers by order of Swabians. During this period, the castello di Lombardia was a very important strategic point.
• With the advent of the House of Bourbon, the castle was used as a prison.

The castles

During the last century, the castle has become the main tourist attraction of Enna and represents the most important medieval monument of the whole province. Impregnable, it is located on the mount from which overlooks Enna. A complex maze of courtyards, walls, towers and defensive walls form three large courts.

The most beautiful parts of the castle are:

• piazzale della Maddalena
• piazzale degli Armati
• piazzale di San Nicola
• torre Pisana (the highest tower of the castle, one of the six tower that still exist)

How to get there

Enna, where the castello di Lombardia is located, is in the heart of Sicily. This town can be easily reached from Catania: take the A19 and follow the road signs to Enna; the journey by car takes about one hour and ten minutes.

Previous stage: il castello di Naro | Next stage: il castello di Gagliano Castelferrato

Image source: Di Sweetie candykim – Opera propria, CC0