Castle of Gagliano Castelferrato

Hidden behind mighty walls and protected by towers and ditches, between classrooms and caverns, not far from the center of Gagliano Castelferrato, in the Libero Castle of Gagliano, a XNUMXth century fortress carved into the rock, full of mystery and capable of attracting tourists and visitors.

Quoted from Cicero in the story of his trip to Sicily, the Castle of Gagliano was the subject of in-depth studies and many of the news that we receive regarding the walls, the moats and the interiors of the Castle themselves, are the result of the work of the scholar Nicolò Brancatelli, who explains also how the Castle was able to resist the Arab pitfalls for a long time, thanks to its accurate defensive system.

Today the Castle is in good condition and those who wish can visit the remains of the ancient building.

The architecture of the Castle of Gagliano

The Castle of Gagliano stands on top of a hill located north of Castelferrato, a rocky area of ​​the municipality which can be accessed by trekking and climbing up the path that starts from Porta Falsa. Arriving, you immediately notice the mighty brick structure of the fortress, while the walls, which have partially survived the passage of time, are located at the foot of the hill. At about 730 meters above sea level is the nucleus of the fort, with a building with a rectangular plan, characterized by various rooms.
The whole fort was made up of classrooms, ventilation ducts, halls and hypogea, whose presence today it is possible to guess based on the remains on the site and the planimetric reconstructions.

What to do at the Castle of Gagliano and in the surroundings

Organizing a visit to the Castle of Gagliano is a way to take a step back in time, stimulating the imagination thanks to this interesting historical site, accompanied by the information necessary to discover the history of the Castle. Also, reaching the top of the hill will be a great way to go trekking and conquer a wonderful view of the valley below.

At the foot of the hill is the inhabited centre, which you can choose as a starting point for your visit: Castelferrato is a village populated by about 3.300 people, where you will find accommodation facilities and places to spend a fantastic stay. In the village, you will find numerous churches, such as the Mother Church of San Cataldo, built in the XNUMXth century right at the foot of the hill on which the castle stands; we advise you to enter, to admire with your own eyes the coffered ceiling of the seventeenth century, the bays and the altars present in the Church. Another cult building in the village is the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, built in the fifties of the last century on the site of the ruins of an ancient church destroyed in wartime. At the Church of Santa Maria del Gesù, however, you will also find the Convent.
The last stages of the tour in Castelferrato include a stop at the Church of St. Joseph and one at Church of Sant'Agostino.

How to get to the Castle of Gagliano

To visit the Castle, we advise you to reach the center of Gagliano Castelferrato, in the Free Municipal Consortium of Enna, where you can easily arrive both by car and by train.

In the car, take the A19 Palermo-Catania and take the Dittaino exit, about 16 km from the centre; alternatively, with the train the town can be reached from the Sant'Agata di Militello station, which is about 40 km away and is connected to the center by bus and shuttle.

© Image by Liquid nitrogen, CC BY-SA 3.0 - daily, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons