Location
Situated at an altitude of almost 1,000m (just over 3,000ft), the mountain town of Enna, administrative capital of an Italian province and seat of a bishopric, has since olden days been called the "heart" or "navel" of Sicily. Furthermore, with its
extensive panoramic views it has been famed as the "belvedere" of the island. In antiquity there was a central shrine here for the goddesses Demeter (the Greek goddess of corn) and Persephone. According to legend, in the nearby lake of Pergusa Hades is supposed to have abducted Persephone and taken her into the underworld. Today the town is very popular with visitors because of its mild climate. In the Castello di Lombardia theatrical performances take place. The inhabitants gain their livelihood from agriculture, potassium salt quarrying and tourism.
History
In its essentials the history of the town is mirrored in the development of its name. In Greek it was known as Enna, in Latin Henna; from Castrum Hennae it became Kasr Jânna in Arab times, which in turn later became translated into Italian as Castrogiovanni. In 1927 there was a general decision to go back to ancient traditions and the town was given back its old name of Enna. It was originally an old fortified Sikel town which, from the fifth century B.C. and under the influence of its trading partners Syracuse and Gela, was hellenised. Dionysios I of Syracuse occupied the town in 403 B.C. temporarily, and from 396 permanently. In 309 Enna broke away from the Syracusan tyrant Agathocles. In the first Punic War (264-241 B.C.) Enna was fought over, despite its reputation of impregnability, and in 258, as a result of an act of betrayal, it fell to the Romans, who in 214 inflicted harsh punishment on the town, when it showed signs of trying to cross over to the Carthaginian side.
In 136 B.C. the great Slave War began in Enna. The town was the seat of the Syrian Eunus, the slave of one Antigenes, whom the rebel slaves declared their leader and who proudly called himself "Antiochos, King of the Syrians" and for a time controlled the whole of Sicily. At the bottom of the Lombard castle, a monument has recently been erected to him. His rule came to an end when in 132 B.C. the town was starved out after a long siege and taken by the Romans under P. Rupilius. In the same year Rome sent an embassy to the famous temple of Ceres (Demeter) at Enna.
In 73-70 B.C. its oldest symbol of worship was stolen by the rapacious praetor Verres (the incident being reported by his prosecutor Cicero - Verres 4, 106-115). In Byzantine times, following the conquest of Sicily by Justinian's commander Belisar in 535, Enna was known as an important fortress. The Arabs, who landed at Mazara in 827 and took Palermo in 831, were not able to conquer Enna until 859, under Abbas Ibn Fadhi, and it was then that the ancient buildings were destroyed. The Arabs were displaced by the Normans in 1087, and Roger I populated the town with countrymen of his Lombard wife, Adelasia. Then Emperor Frederick II took steps to make the fortress as strong as possible. Frederick II of Aragon was crowned "King of Trinacria" here in 1314 and in 1324 summoned the parliament of barons to a meeting in the castle. In the subsequent period the town, now called Castrogiovanni, gradually declined into insignificance. In the Second World War it suffered considerable damage during the American capture of the island.
Communications
Intersection of the SS 121 (Palermo-Catania), 122 (Agrigento) and 192 (Catania), access to motorway A 19 (Palermo-Catania). Railway station (5km/3mi away).
Cultural events
During Holy Week there are numerous events: processions in costume are organized by the brotherhoods of the Rosary and the Passion of Christ.
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