Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Torre di Federico II
(Via Torre di Federico; 8am-6pm)
Secret passageways once led to this octagonal tower,
which now stands in Enna's public gardens. Once part of the town's old defence system, it
stands nearly 24m high.
TOWER
Rocca Di Cerere
TEMPLE
Just below the entrance to the castle is a huge rock, which was once home to Enna's
Temple of Demeter (Ceres to the Romans), goddess of fertility and agriculture. The
temple, built in 480 BC by the tyrant Gelon, is supposed to have featured a statue of King
Triptolemus, the only mortal to witness the rape of Demeter's daughter Persephone.
There's not much left of the temple now, but the rocky platform, accessible by a series
of steep steps, is a great place for a picnic or to take in the sunset.
Duomo
CATHEDRAL
(Via Roma; 9am-1pm & 4-7pm)
The Duomo is the most impressive of the historic buildings
that line Via Roma, Enna's showpiece street. Built over 200 years after the original Gothic
cathedral burnt down in 1446, it boasts an imposing facade, complete with a square 17th-
century belltower, and a truly sumptuous interior.
Traces remain of the original church, including the transept and polygonal apses, but
the rest is pure baroque, including an ornamental coffered wood ceiling, hanging chandeli-
ers and a dramatic, scene-stealing altar. Other points of interest include the bases of the
grey basalt columns, decorated with grotesque carvings of snakes with human heads; the
pulpit and stoup, both set on Greco-Roman remains from the Temple of Demeter; 17th-
century presbytery paintings by Filippo Paladino; and the altarpieces by Guglielmo Borre-
mans.
Museo Archeologico di
MUSEUM
Palazzo Varisano
( 093 5507 6304; Piazza Mazzini 8; 9am-1pm Mon-Fri)
This museum reopened in 2011
after years of closure. It has a good collection of local artefacts (labelled in Italian) excav-
ated from throughout the region, as well as objects borrowed from Syracuse's and Agri-
