The ancient city of Enna sits high on a hill
surrounded by cliffs which made it hard to reach and even harder to attack
All access routes were heavily defended
and the city had a ready supply of water which made attempts at siege very difficult
archaeological excavations have shown human presence in this area since neolithic times
approximately 14th century bc. An 11th century bc hilltop settlement possibly the Sicanians
has been uncovered. The Sicani lived in Sicily at the time of the Phoenician and Greek settlement
they are the oldest named people in Sicily and lived in the area between Enna and Palermo
subsequently this settlement was habitated by the Sicels. The Sicels were mentioned in Homer's
Odyssey and lived in the east of Sicily. Eventually the Sicels were absorbed by Greek settlement
Dionysus of Syracuse made numerous attempts to take Enna initially he persuaded
Aeimnestus, a citizen of Enna to take control. Once Aeimnestus was in charge
Dionysus assisted the people to rise up against their own tyrannical despot
it was however not until much later and numerous further campaigns
that Dionysus did eventually gain control of the city by subterfuge. Morgantina is a
Sicilian Greek archaeological site. Agathocles the tyrant of Syracuse was ruler of Enna. The Ennaeans
joined Xenodicus and the Agrigentines to restore Sicilian cities to freedom in 309 bc
During the first Punic war, Enna was heavily involved it was first taken by the Carthaginians
led by Hamilcar and later taken by the Romans
in both cases brute force failed and instead treachery was employed
Both Ceres and Persephone were worshiped in Enna.
Cicero said that the temple of Ceres was greatly venerated. During the second Punic war as Marcellus
besieged Syracuse in 214 bc, numerous Sicilian towns rebelled against the Romans.
Pinarius, the Roman governor of Enna was alarmed and ordered the Roman garrison
to herd the citizens of Enna into the theater and subsequently a massacre ensued
The Roman soldiers were then allowed to loot what was left in the city
Villa Romana del Casale is a view into the life of wealthy Romans with mosaics to boot, it is a Unesco site
During the first Servile war 134 bc to 132 bc, Eunus, a former slave led his forces to take Enna
along with Tauromenium Katana Messana and possibly Syracuse.
Enna was the last stronghold against Rupilius again falling due to betrayal. Strabo stated the city
suffered considerable damage under Roman rule, damage from which it never really recovered
Cicero referred to Enna as a flourishing municipal town
in a heavily agricultural area. The Verres government in 73 to 70 bc caused untold damage,
he plundered anything of value and in particular works of art. Enna was progressively denuded
by the excesses of the rule of the notorious Verres. In particular, Verres looted from
it a bronze image of the deity Ceres, the most ancient as well as the most venerated in Sicily.
Eventually Gaius Verres, after a very scandalous reign was exiled to Marseille in France.
Enna was still mentioned by Strabo Pliny and Ptolemy as a small town with a waning population
As the Roman empire divided into east and west in 395 a.d, Sicily became part of the western Roman empire
Enna flourished through the middle ages as an important Byzantine stronghold. In 859,
during the Islamic conquest of Sicily. Enna fell to Muslim troops after a long siege,
eventually the Muslim troops entered through a sewer. The 8 000 residents of Enna were massacred
by the invading Muslim forces. It is believed that the historical remnants were destroyed
by these Saracen invaders who instead built the castle. In 1061, Roger de Hauteville assisted a
Sicilian emir by the name of Ibn al-Hawaz, one of three on the island to defeat the other two
and in return he would control eastern Sicily. Eventually the Normans proceeded to Enna
via Caltanissetta to try and take the stronghold of Ibn al-Hawas and were partly successful but the emir did avoid
capture. The Normans finally captured Enna in 1087. Frederick ii the holy Roman Emperor
and king of Sicily used Torre di Federico or Frederick tower as his summer residence.
Enna played a pivotal role in the Sicilian Vespers as the Aragon conquest of Sicily began
Sperlinga castle sheltered Angevin soldiers during the popular uprising. At the same time, during the
Sicilian Vespers, Enna castle was extensively damaged as citizens attacked the Angevin garrison
King Frederick iii of Sicily developed the city but overall it suffered under Spanish rule
The Castello di Lombardia Lombardy castle was built by the Sicanians. It was
subsequently rebuilt by Frederick ii of Sicily and Frederick ii of Aragon
the duomo the cathedral was built in the 14th century by Queen Eleonora the wife of Frederick iii
it was extensively damaged by a fire in 1446 and then widely redesigned in a more baroque style
Torre de Federico was the summer residence of Frederick ii of Hohenstaufen
Lake Pergusa is close to Enna. The Pergusa nature reserve was established in 1995.
Pergusa is linked to Greek mythology through Persephone
The remains of a temple are dedicated to Demeter, the mother of Persephone
It is said Persephone, daughter of Zeus and Demeter was kidnapped from near Enna
by Pluto and taken to Hades, the underworld. The concept of the seasons arose from this event
Persephone is the queen of both the underworld and the goddess of spring and vegetation
when Pluto abducted Persephone, her mother Demeter forbade any plants to grow while she hunted for
her daughter. Eventually, Zeus relented and told Demeter where her daughter was to be found
Zeus did this because the people were starving as a result of the failure of the crops to grow
As mother and daughter were reunited, plants began to grow again hence the concept of spring
The tradition of mythology stated that the queen of the underworld
was to be feared and that her name was not to be spoken. The city kept its Sicilian name of
Castrugiuvanni the Italian name Castrogiovanni until Benito Mussolini ordered it to be
renamed in 1927 to Enna. The Autodromo di Pergusa racetrack has hosted various events over the years
including Formula One. The Mediterranean Grand Prix was held here between 1962 and 1965.
The drivers John Surtees in 1963 Jackie Stewart in 1967
Keke Rosberg in 1977 and David Coulthard 1993 have won races on this circuit.
The World Superbike championship was held on this circuit in 1989.
The Ferrari festival has also been held here with Michael Schumacher in attendance.
In 2002, Enna became a university city