Located on the western slopes of the mount Erei range, at an altitude of 700m, Piazza Armerina (EN) has Norman origins. It was rebuilt in 1163 after being completely destroyed by William I of Sicily and includes elements that range in origin from the 12th to the 20th century.
There are numerous monumental buildings in the historic centre: the Grand Priory of St. Andrew, the oldest church in the town, which dates to 1096; the Church of St. Peter, built towards the mid 1500s along with the adjacent convent to honour a miraculous image of the Virgin Mary; the Church of St. John of Rhodes (the Commenda), built in austere Gothic style between the late 1100s and early 1200s by the Knights of Jerusalem; and the Cathedral ofMaria Santissima Delle Vittorie with its 15th century Catalan Gothic bell tower. Palazzo Trigona, next to the cathedral, was built between the late 17th century and early 18th centuries and is considered a significant example of late Sicilian Baroque civic architecture; today it houses the Museum of the City and Territory of Piazza Armerina.
The Aragonese Castle (or Spinelli Castle) was built between 1392 and 1396, commissioned by Martin I (the Younger), the Aragon king of Sicily; it has a rectangular layout with four quadrangular towers at the ends, linked by trapezoid bastions. Only a few points of the external wall from the original 13th century structure remain as it was used as a prison in the 19th century and almost all of the internal and external spaces were modified.
The Roman Villa del Casale with over 3,000 m2 of mosaics, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997, is located near the town.
Sicilia Film Commission
Via Emanuele Notarbartolo 9 — 90141 Palermo
Phone: +39 091 7078008; +39 091 7078264; +39 091 7078133; +39 091 7078145
Email: filmcommission@regione.sicilia.it
