Leonforte · Geosite
Geosito di Vignale
A geosite of global importance established by the Regional Government of Sicily under the relevant law.
📍 Castles
Castelli di Tavi e Guzzetta
Leonforte
Set along what was once the ancient Catania-Termini consular road, the two castles rise on two quartz-arenite pinnacles of the Numidian Flysch, already striking in their very shape.
Set along what was once the ancient Catania-Termini consular road, the two castles rise on two quartz-arenite pinnacles of the Numidian Flysch, already striking in their very shape. Now reduced to ruins, they retain a powerful charm and are an example of 'landless' fiefs, that is, fiefs without an inhabited village. Tavi, moreover, stands guard over the extremely fertile valley where the Crisa-Dittaino River rises and which later gave birth to modern Leonforte.
Getting there
SP 39, Leonforte. Reached by following the SP 39. Accessible by bicycle and by car/motorcycle.
Access & visits
Open every day of the year. Contact the Geopark, as the site is private. Suitable for families with children; a guide is required.
Where it is
…
Nearby places
Leonforte · Nature & archaeology
Monte Altesina
Monte Altesina is the highest peak of the Erei Mountains.
Leonforte · Rock-cut site
Laura Basiliana di Santa Lena
In the district of the same name, now part of the outskirts of Leonforte, the cave known in Greek as Santa Léna is what remains of a complex originally hewn into the calcarenite and used as a grain silo or cubiculum, later transformed into a small rock-cut church decorated with a complex cycle of frescoes still faintly visible on its walls today.