Castello Colonna Henriquez, the old home of the Countess of Modica Vittoria Colonna Enriquez Cabrera, is in the historic centre of Vittoria; its main entrance is in the middle of piazza Henriquez and the opposite side looks over the valley of the Ippari.
What to see
The tender document is dated 4 March 1607, the year the city was founded; the work was entrusted to the Ragusa master builders Vito Dierna and Vincenzo Nobile and its start, on 11 March, was celebrated with fireworks. From 1624 it was the home of a castellan; in 1643 it was completely restored for the visit of the counts of Modica and the viceroy Giovanni Alfonso Enriquez. Before the earthquake of 1693 further rooms were added; on 15 June 1869 the widow Stuart, heir of the Colonna, sold it to the Comune, which used it as a prison until 1950. After a long period of neglect and architectural recovery, on 24 April 1985 it was inaugurated as the Museo civico polivalente, named after Professor Virgilio Lavore, with peasant and craft evidence of the past.
The building has a very plain front and is also known as «Dammusi» and «Palazzieddu». It is rectangular, on two floors, with a wide entrance leading to the central courtyard. The ground floor partly keeps its original structure in blocks of local sandstone, with barrel vaults on massive walls; the old part is spartan, with plinths, pilasters and pronounced capitals. After the 1693 earthquake the rooms on the left were added, in 1787; in the atrium is a cistern for collecting rainwater and on the Ippari side a spacious veranda with a balcony over the valley.
Visiting
The castle is in the historic centre of Vittoria, in piazza Henriquez; it houses the Museo civico polivalente, with an exhibition hall named after the painter Giuseppe Mazzone. The sources consulted give no opening hours or visiting arrangements: check them.
Our editors' tip
The castle has hosted the Jazz Festival Cerasuolo Wine, promoted every year by the Vittoria jazzman Francesco Cafiso, and was the temporary seat of the Cerasuolo di Vittoria protection consortium.
