A leap into 19th-century Sicily: the Castle of Donnafugata
Twenty kilometers from the ancient city of Ragusa stands one of the most striking buildings in Sicily. Let’s talk about the Donnafugata Castle, a 19th-century palace surrounded by stories and legends that assign its designation as a place as mysterious as it is fascinating.
The history of Donnafugata Castle: between art and legends
That of the Donnafugata Castle Is quite a convoluted story. Its name derives from the Donnafugata fiefdom and from Ayn As Jafat, which translated from Arabic means “source of health.” According to other sources, however, “donnafugata” would derive from the legend of the Queen Blanche of Navarre and Count Berardo Cabrera of Modica, a man somewhat hostile even to the great rulers of Palermo.
It is said that the queen had been locked up by the terrible count insideinside a room e had managed to escape through the tunnels leading to the surrounding countryside. From this escape would come the toponym of the castle, which from “ronna fuata” (woman fled) changed to Donnafugata. Here comes a denial, however. Some sources document that when the queen was imprisoned, the castle had not yet been built, and therefore that of the Count of Cabrera remains only a legend.
Speaking historically that of Donnafugata was a noble holiday residence. Around the 19th century, the Baron Francis Mary of Arezzo had the residence rebuilt around an thirteenth-century palace that already existed. Today it occupies 2,500 square meters and has 122 rooms. At the front we find two gates placed under a large balcony, reached through a typical country courtyard, consisting of a driveway and two rows of traditional Sicilian houses. The facade is characterized by a Array of Gothic-style arched doorways. The front terrace is the landmark of this building and can be accessed via a staircase adorned with four imposing statues, two lions at the beginning and two sphinxes at the end. In the upper front part we find a loggia with a double colonnade and also with Gothic-style arches.
Overall, the castle is influenced by different artistic and architectural styles. We find details neoclassical, gothic, eighteenth-century and even medieval, such as the two-tower rear moat that protects it. Read more about the history and the families who inhabited this place here.
Donnafugata Castle interiors and the connection with writers and filmmakers
<<There are places where you feel like you have been there before, even if they are new, even if they don’t look like anything you have seen. It’s those places where you think you’ve already lived or where you hope to end up someday when you no longer have to be accountable to anyone.
There are places that speak and tell ghost stories, intertwined with the labyrinths of the streets, stories of girls in love with the wrong person and locked up in rooms from which they can never get out. Those places there, they die with earthquakes and are reborn more beautiful than before..and they are not normal at all: if you distract yourself for a moment you are blinded by the light of the church facades, the green of the carob trees and the eyes of the people. If you get distracted for a moment, you can never pay a restaurant bill or a museum ticket. There is a castle in those places where the blackness of the pitch, very elegant, wispy from the years, acts as a curtain to rooms that exude wealth, parties, women in baroque and sensual dresses.
And those clothes are there, today, in every room, and the dummies become ghosts who do not want to leave there: that of Baron Conrad, looking for the new and last joke or that of Queen Bianca, the “Ronnafuata,” who managed to escape from the castle. You can still see them dancing or listening to the fortepiano in the music room, they, the real Viceroys of De Roberto’s novel.
There are these places..and when you leave, you don’t know whether you visited them or dreamed about them.>>
(September 2018 – Luca L’Abbate)
That’s right, the interiors of Donnafugata Castle are a voyage of discovery of 19th-century Sicilian aristocracy. Entering the palace’s many rooms, adorned with frescoes, stucco work, decorations and lush furnishings, will seem like stepping back in time and dreaming of life in the past. Among the most fascinating rooms are the Hall of Mirrors, the Hall of Coats of Arms, the Billiard Rooms e of Music, the Room of Bianca of Navarre, the Ladies’ Rooms and the Fumoir.
It is these details that have have inspired great artists of the past and contemporary, from Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa e The Leopard up to Andrea Camilleri with the Commissioner Montalbano. The latter, in the reworking of the novel into fiction, sees the noble residence of the Ragusan man appear as the home of Mafia leader Don Balduccio Sinagra. Luca Zingaretti, as Montalbano, goes several times to the house of the Mafia boss and this awaits him sometimes inside others on the famous balcony. Also the Labyrinth of the Castle of Donnafugata becomes the protagonist in the episode “The Trip to Tindari,” when Mr. and Mrs. Griffo are found inside it.
Speaking of Montalbano, we cannot fail to mention how this novel speaks a great deal about Sicily, to the point of becoming the protagonist of these lands. Absolutely not to be missed is the wonderful
Tour of Montalbano proposed by Visit Vigata, a journey through the places behind the scenes of the renowned TV series.
The Park of Donnafugata Castle
The Park of Donnafugata Castle deserves to be visited and observed in its every detail. The land of 8 acres, which surrounds the mansion, includes as many as three gardens of different types:
- The English garden, with an informal style.
- The French garden, more elegant and refined.
- L’rustic area devoted to the cultivation of aromatic plants, fruit trees and beekeeping. The latter testifies to the origins of the estate purchased by the Baron of Donnafugata and started as afarm in its own right.
The park is home to monumental trees and 1,500 species of Mediterranean and exotic plants. From the human footprint, on the other hand, we find a circular temple, a cafeaus intended for the refreshments of the nobles, artificial caves with fake stalactites and the labyrinth with dry stone walls.
On the institution’s website there is an in-depth study in 10 dates that explains the birth and evolution of the Donnafugata gardens.
The Mu.de.co: the Museum of Sicilian Costume
Born in 2014 thanks to theMunicipal Administration of Ragusa and supported by the Banca Agricola Popolare di Ragusa, the Mu.de.co is nothing more than a museum dedicated to the history of Sicilian costume 18th and 19th centuries. The protagonist is a collection of clothes and accessories that belonged to Gabriele Arezzo di Trifiletti, a member of the ancient aristocratic family of Donnafugata.
The museum consisting of. 460 complete dresses, 695 individual dresses, 1555 accessories including shoes and hats and various cosmetic and sewing items, is located in the lower parts of the castle. It was realized in 2016 at the hands of Joseph Guerrieri, Nunzio Sciveres and their team of professionals. From 2021 Is open to tourists,
see more
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Donnafugata Castle: hours and prices
The Donnafugata Castle is open from 09:00 to 19:00 until Oct. 31 (summer hours) and from 09:00 to 16:00 from November 1 (winter schedule). Every Monday closed.
On the site you can find out about the various rates, reductions and exemptions (Donnafugata Castle tickets).
Once you arrive, you can purchase the Park and Castle ticket, only Mu.de.co o only Park, but the experience does not end there! Once one’s visit is over, does one feel peckish? La Trattoria Pizzeria al Castello, with its typical Hyblean cuisine, is a good compromise between culinary tradition and picturesque location, after all, there is no better experience than visiting a castle and being able to taste local delicacies right on the spot!
Luca Russo
Photo credits: Etna Portal