Sicily · Enna
Sperlinga
A sandstone borgo at 750 meters in the Nebrodi foothills where a Norman castle and dwellings are carved into the rock as one continuous mass.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Sperlinga is on our list
It holds Borghi più belli d'Italia.
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Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Jun, Sep–Nov
- By car
- 1 h 37 min from Catania
- Population
- 652
- J9°
- F11°
- M12°
- A16°
- M21°
- J27°
- J31°
- A30°
- S25°
- O21°
- N15°
- D11°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Sperlinga sits at 750 meters on the southern slopes of the Nebrodi, in the inland Enna province with about 650 residents. The name comes from the Latin spelunca, meaning cave. The village is carved directly into a sandstone monolith, with around fifty rupestrian dwellings connected by streets and steps also cut from the rock.
The Norman castle, built between the late eleventh and early twelfth centuries on the highest point of the same monolith, includes stables, prisons and forges all hewn into the stone. Sperlinga is famous for one historical refusal. During the Sicilian Vespers of 1282, when the whole island rose against the Angevin French, Sperlinga alone gave shelter to a French garrison and held out against the rebels.
An inscription over a castle doorway once read quod Siculis placuit sola Sperlinga negavit, what pleased the Sicilians, only Sperlinga denied. The village is listed among the Borghi più belli d'Italia.
How to get there
From Catania (CTA), about 1 h 39 min by car.
By car from the center of Palermo 2 h.
Every town within reach of Catania airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Castello di Sperlinga
Norman-era castle carved into the sandstone monolith above the village, with stables, forges and prisons cut directly into the rock.
Grotte rupestri
Around fifty cave dwellings hewn from the sandstone mass, inhabited until the last century and connected by rock-cut streets and steps.
Borgo rupestre
Rock village around and beneath the castle, the largest surviving troglodyte settlement in inland Sicily.
Chiesa Madre di Sant'Anna
Eighteenth-century parish church at the foot of the castle rock, the religious center of the village and the venue for the Sant'Anna feast in July.
Living here
Could you live here?
Sperlinga is a village with a town close by.
- A village of 652, with Nicosia (12,511 people) 14 min away for the shopping and a meal out. Our rule is a town within 15 minutes.
- Enna, a city of 25,102, is 1 h 3 min by car. Further than our 30 to 60 minutes, a long way for the hospital visit or the monthly shopping.
The rules come from our series Where to Move in Italy, written from the places we have lived: Part 1, The End of the Road · Part 2, The Small Town · Part 3, The City · Part 4, The Postcard · Part 5, The Other Half. The towns we would pick are in Part 6, The Best Towns.
- Population 652, down 19.5% since 2015 (Italy's emptying towns)
- Nearest city Enna, 1 h 3 min drive
- Nearest national health service hospital Nicosia, 1 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €350 to €510 per m² to buy, €1.20 to €1.70 per m² a month to rent
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- Very remote
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 99% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 2, medium hazard
- Catania airport (CTA), 1 h 39 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Palermo, 2 h drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
Under 1% of residents are foreign citizens, against 9% across Italy. There are 475 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 64% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Enna province ranks 87th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Nicosia, 1 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Caltanissetta, 45 km away. The nearest children's emergency room is in Caltanissetta, 45 km away. The nearest IB school is Gonzaga International School Palermo, 97 km as the crow flies.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 0.86% a year in property tax at the 2025 rate, charged on the cadastral value rather than the price. A main home pays none unless it is in a luxury category. 7% pensioner tax: this town qualifies, for someone with a foreign pension who has lived abroad for five years: 7% on foreign income, for ten years.
Information, not tax advice. Confirm with a professional.
What it costs
The average household in Sicily spends about €1,820 a month, €580 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €524 a year for water, on the Sicily average.
Climate and risk
It is in climate zone D, on a scale from A, the warmest, to F, the coldest, and heating may run from November 1 to April 15, up to 12 hours a day, unless the mayor changes it. The national maps show no residents in a high or medium flood zone. 8% live in a zone rated high or very high for landslides.
These shares cover the whole comune, not any one street. Check an address on IdroGEO.
Moving from abroad? Which visa you need. Sources: ISTAT, the Ministry of Health, ISPRA, the Finance Ministry, the Ministry of Enterprise, Poste Italiane, the comuni, the IB, International Schools Database, Il Sole 24 Ore, Cittadinanzattiva.
Known for
ROCK VILLAGE
About fifty cave dwellings cut directly into a single sandstone monolith, the most extensive troglodyte settlement in inland Sicily.
THE NORMAN CASTLE
Castle hewn from the same rock as the village, partly cave and partly built, the strategic point of the Nebrodi-Madonie crossing.
VESPERS REFUSAL
Alone in Sicily, Sperlinga refused to join the 1282 uprising against the Angevin French and gave shelter to their garrison.
PAGNOTTA DEL DITTAINO
The commune lies inside the Pagnotta del Dittaino DOP production zone.
Common questions
- What is Sperlinga known for?
- Sperlinga is a sandstone borgo at 750 meters in the Nebrodi foothills where a Norman castle and dwellings are carved into the rock as one continuous mass.
- Where is Sperlinga?
- Sperlinga is a comune in the province of Enna, in Sicily.
- What is the nearest airport to Sperlinga?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Catania (CTA), about 1 h 39 min by car.
- How long is the drive from Palermo to Sperlinga?
- About 2 h by car.
- When is the best time to visit Sperlinga?
- Best in Apr–Jun, Sep–Nov. July is the warmest month, averaging 31 degrees, and January the wettest, with about 11 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Sperlinga?
- Santa Cristina Gela, Castel di Lucio and Novara di Sicilia.
- How many people live in Sperlinga?
- 652 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Sperlinga a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Sperlinga is a village with a town of 5,000 people within 15 minutes (Nicosia, 14 min). The nearest city, Enna, is 1 h 3 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Nicosia, 1 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 99% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 750 m
- Population: 652
- Surface area: 59.14 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
The ranked lists
Lists Sperlinga appears in
Similar
Towns like Sperlinga
What all six share with Sperlinga: high up, between 600 and 1,000 metres
Santa Cristina Gela
Province: Palermo
both inland in Sicily
Castel di Lucio
Province: Messina
both inland in Sicily
Novara di Sicilia
Province: Messina
both inland in Sicily
Sutera
Province: Caltanissetta
both inland in Sicily
Bondone
Province: Trento
both under 1,000 people
Forni di Sotto
Province: Udine
both under 1,000 people
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