Enna

Enna
Country	Italy
region	Sicily
Free community consortium	Enna (EN)
Local name	Castrugiuvanni
Coordinates	37 ° 34 ' N , 14 ° 16' E Coordinates: 37 ° 34 '0 " N , 14 ° 16' 0" E
height	970 m slm
surface	357 km²
Residents	26,658 (Dec. 31, 2019)
Population density	75 inhabitants / km²
Factions	Enna bassa, Pergusa , Borgo Cascino, Calderari, Bondo Ennate
Post Code	94100 94010
prefix	0935
ISTAT number	086009
Popular name	Ennesi
Patron saint	Maria SS. Della Visitazione
Website	Enna
	; City view of Enna

Enna is a town and municipality in the Italian region of Sicily and the capital of the Enna Free Municipal Consortium with 26,658 inhabitants (as of December 31, 2019). The city was called Castrogiovanni until 1926 . It is also called the Belvedere (viewpoint) or, because of its strategically important, central location in the interior of the island, the navel of Sicily .

Location and dates

Enna is located in the geographical center of Sicily at an altitude of 968 meters above sea level on a horseshoe-shaped peak of the Monti Erei , the Monte San Giuliano .

South of Enna is the only natural lake in Sicily, Lago di Pergusa . Around the lake in 1961 an approximately 5 km long car racing track was built, the Autodromo di Pergusa .

The districts ( Frazioni ) are Enna Bassa, Pergusa, Borgo Cascino and Calderari. The neighboring municipalities are Agira , Aidone , Assoro , Calascibetta , Caltanissetta ( CL ), Gangi ( PA ), Leonforte , Piazza Armerina , Pietraperzia , Santa Caterina Villarmosa (CL), Valguarnera Caropepe and Villarosa .

Enna has a rail connection with the Catania – Agrigento railway line. The journey times are 1 hour 20 minutes to Catania , 1 hour 10 minutes to Agrigento and 2 hours 50 minutes to Palermo . Enna has access to the A19 motorway (Palermo – Catania) .

history

The area was already inhabited in prehistoric times, as archaeological finds show. Before the Greek colonization , the Sicans and the Sicelians lived here . In the 4th century BC Enna was conquered by Dionysios and Agathocles , both rulers of Syracuse .

During the Punic Wars , Enna was occupied first by the Carthaginians and then by the Romans , who called the place Castrum Hennae . Around 139 BC The first slave war started in the area around Enna . Only after four years could the Roman punitive army conquer the residence of the slave leader Eunus . In the second indictment speech against Verres by Cicero from the year 70 BC. The Ceres sanctuary in Henna, which was plundered by the governor Gaius Verres , plays an important role .

After the Romans, the Byzantines ruled . After a first unsuccessful attack in the summer of 827, in which the Byzantine usurper Euphemios fell, the Arabs conquered the city in 859 after several years of siege. From them she received the name Qasr Yannah , which was later translated into Italian as Castrogiovanni . In 1088 it was conquered by the Normans . In 1302 Frederick II of Sicily received the title of King of Trinacria . The Castello di Lombardia and the Torre di Federico II date from this period .

The important role that Enna played during the Arab and Norman rule due to its central location became less important in the centuries that followed. It was not until 1926 that the city of Castrogiovanni became the provincial capital and was given the ancient name of Enna again. In 2004 the University of Enna , Sicily's fourth university, was founded.

economy

The agriculture is the main source of income of the population, focuses on the livestock and fodder crops. Other jobs are in the food industry , in the production of building materials and in tourism .

Attractions

The Piazza Vittorio Emanuele is the central square of Enna with a monastery and the Church of San Francesco. From here the Via Roma branches off , the main street of the city.
The cathedral with splendid furnishings was built from 1307. After a fire in 1446 it was renewed and expanded. The baroque facade was built at the end of the 17th century.
The Museo Alessi shows the cathedral treasure, a coin collection and medieval works of art.
The Castello di Lombardia was one of the largest castles in Sicily. Six of the original 20 towers are still standing. From the platform of the Torre Pisana , the highest tower, one has a view of the Etna massif in the east, the Monti Nebrodi and Monti Madonie in the north, of the Lago di Pergusa and on clear days of the Mediterranean in the south.
The Rocca di Cerere (Ceres rock) is a place of worship on a steep rock opposite the Castello di Lombardia with remains of a sacrificial altar. This is probably where the Demeter / Ceres sanctuary was located, which Cicero reports in his Orationes in Verrem .
The Torre di Federico II in the city park is an octagonal residential tower of Frederick II, which was previously connected to the castle by an underground passage.