Rocca di Cerere

Enna

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Just below the entrance to Castello di Lombardia 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.

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

  • Piazza Armerina, Enna, Sicily

    Villa Romana del Casale

    14.34 MILES

    Villa Romana del Casale is sumptuous, even by decadent Roman standards, and is thought to have been the country retreat of Marcus Aurelius Maximianus,…

  • Scalinata di Santa Maria del Monte

    Scalinata di Santa Maria del Monte

    25.9 MILES

    Caltagirone's most evocative sight is this monumental staircase, which rises from Piazza Municipio to Chiesa di Santa Maria del Monte. Built in the early…

  • Triclinium

    Triclinium

    14.36 MILES

    One of a series of apartments on one side of the Ambulacro, the triclinium boasts a splendid floor illustration of the labours of Hercules, where the…

  • Panoramic view of the Greek archaeological site of Morgantina, in the interior of Sicily in Italy. 1479010493 carthaginian, tour tourism

    Morgantina

    14.09 MILES

    A 16km drive northeast of Piazza Armerina (and a 4km downhill drive from the town of Aidone) lie the noteworthy remains of Morgantina, an ancient Greek…

  • Little Hunt

    Little Hunt

    14.32 MILES

    Of the rooms on the northern side of the peristyle, the most interesting is a dining room featuring a hunting mosaic called the Little Hunt – 'little'…

  • Sala delle Dieci Ragazze

    Sala delle Dieci Ragazze

    14.35 MILES

    Just off the southern end of the Ambulacro della Grande Caccia, in the Sala delle Dieci Ragazze, is the villa's most famous mosaic. It depicts nine …

  • Peristyle

    Peristyle

    14.34 MILES

    The main part of the villa is centred on the peristyle, a vast covered courtyard lined with amusing animal heads. This is where guests would have been…

  • Palaestra

    Palaestra

    14.33 MILES

    The palaestra wows with a splendid, sweeping mosaic depicting a chariot race at the Circus Maximus in Rome (the room is also known as the Salone del Circo…

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Nearby Enna attractions

1. Castello di Lombardia

0.18 MILES

One of Sicily's most formidable castles guards Enna's highest point, at the easternmost edge of the historic centre. The original castle was built by the…

2. Duomo

0.39 MILES

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…

3. Museo Archeologico di Palazzo Varisano

0.41 MILES

Enna's archaeological museum houses a good collection of local artefacts (labelled in Italian) excavated from throughout the region, as well as objects…

5. Piazza Crispi

0.67 MILES

Just off Piazza Vittorio Emanuele is another small square, Piazza F Crispi, commanding sweeping views over the valley to Calascibetta. The piazza is home…

6. Torre di Federico II

0.98 MILES

Secret passageways once led to this octagonal tower, which now stands in Enna's pine-studded public gardens. Once part of the town's old defence system,…

7. Chiesa Madre

1.49 MILES

Calascibetta's most impressive sight is its 14th-century cathedral. Among its highlights are 18th-century paintings by Ludovico Svirech.

8. Necropoli di Realmese

3.13 MILES

Situated 3km northwest of Calascibetta, the Necropoli di Realmese is worth investigating, with some 300 rock tombs dating from 850 BC. To reach the site,…