Holiday apartment in Enna: Festivals, history and Lago di Pergusa

Enna showcases its distinctive features through impressive festivals, medieval buildings and a protected lake landscape. A notable date is the Feast of Madonna della Visitazione, celebrated annually on 2 July: it begins with 101 cannon shots and includes a procession in which the Vara of the patron saint, the Nave d’Oro, is carried.

Traditions

Holy Week is also firmly established in the city’s cultural calendar. A traditional procession of 16 confraternities makes its way to the cathedral at hourly intervals from Palm Sunday until Wednesday morning. During the Good Friday procession, around 2,500 hooded members of the confraternities walk through Enna carrying the biers of the dead Jesus and Our Lady of Sorrows; the procession is accompanied by various funeral marches. The Museo delle Confraternite offers another way to engage with local traditions. Its exhibition rooms follow the guiding theme of the five senses, with each room assigned one sense.

Culture and history

The Rocca di Cerere is situated on an almost isolated limestone sandstone summit. In classical times, the summit served as the sacred temenos of Demeter and Kore. The Rocca di Cerere also gave its name to a geopark that has belonged to the European and Global Geoparks Networks since 2001.

The Torre di Federico II is considered one of Italy’s best-preserved Hohenstaufen monuments. During his stays in Sicily, it was used as the summer residence of the Hohenstaufen emperor. From its summit, the Torre delle Aquile, Castello di Lombardia, the cathedral and Mount Etna can be seen. Castello di Lombardia is one of Italy’s largest medieval castles; it was here that Frederick II of Swabia convened the first Sicilian parliament.

Enna Cathedral has a basilica-style layout with three naves and a transept and preserves Gothic and Aragonese architectural elements. Inside are five altarpieces dating from the 18th century, attributed to the Flemish painter Guglielmo Borremans. At the Museo Archeologico Regionale di Aidone, Morgantina is presented as an abandoned, Hellenized indigenous city that flourished during the Hellenistic period.

The Museo del Mito in Enna is presented as Italy’s first fully multimedia museum and conveys the myth in a contemporary form accessible to a broad audience. The museum is currently closed for renovation work.

Nature

The Riserva Naturale Lago di Pergusa covers 402.5 hectares in the municipality of Enna and is designated as the Natura 2000 SAC/SPA ITA060002. Lago di Pergusa itself is a shallow, slightly brackish tectonic lake without inlets or outlets. The Riserva Naturale is an important resting and wintering area for waterbirds as well as a breeding ground for the Sicilian rock partridge.

Visitor routes

Parco Minerario Floristella Grottacalda offers visitor routes and a picnic area. Guided visits on other days and at other times must be arranged in advance. Lago di Pergusa is the more distant section of the Enna route and can be reached by public buses or by car.

When comparing holiday apartments in Enna, you can check the exact location, type of accommodation, occupancy, included services, price components, and booking and cancellation conditions on the respective listing page.

More destination pages

More destination pages: Piazza Armerina, Pergusa, Pietraperzia, Aidone, Enna, Troina, Gagliano Castelferrato, Centuripe, Sant'anna, Nissoria, Agira, Valguarnera Caropepe, Catenanuova, Calascibetta, Regalbuto, Villarosa, Barrafranca, Assoro.

To the overarching travel overview: Sicily.