Historic hill town · Sicily, Italy

Gangi Villages

Gangi is a town and municipality in the Metropolitan City of Palermo, in the autonomous island region of Sicily, Italy, lying about 80 kilometres south-east of Palermo. With around 5,900 inhabitants, it is recognised as one of I Borghi più belli d’Italia, Italy’s association of its most beautiful villages.

At a glance

Type: Historic hill town (comune)
Period: Long-established Sicilian settlement
Style: Traditional Sicilian hill-town fabric
Location: Metropolitan City of Palermo, Sicily, Italy

Overview

Gangi is a town and municipality in the Metropolitan City of Palermo, in the autonomous region of Sicily. It lies about 80 kilometres south-east of Palermo and has around 5,900 inhabitants. The town is one of I Borghi più belli d’Italia, Italy’s network of its most beautiful villages.

History

As a long-established Sicilian comune in the Palermo area, Gangi sits within the interior of the island, away from the coast. Its inclusion among I Borghi più belli d’Italia reflects the survival of its historic urban character. For the detailed history of the settlement, consult local and regional sources.

What you see

Gangi presents the dense, layered fabric of a Sicilian hill town in the interior of the island. Its standing as one of Italy’s most beautiful villages points to a well-preserved historic centre. The setting, inland from Palermo, gives the town its distinctive landscape and character.

Cultural significance

Gangi’s recognition among I Borghi più belli d’Italia underlines its value as a heritage town. It represents the historic settlements of inland Sicily and their place in the cultural landscape of the region.

Practical information

Gangi is located in the Metropolitan City of Palermo, in inland Sicily. For visitor services, opening times of sites and local information, check the official municipal or tourism website.

Getting there

The town lies about 80 kilometres south-east of Palermo and is most easily reached by car through the Sicilian interior. Palermo, with its airport and rail connections, is the main gateway for visitors arriving from further afield.

Sources & resources

The town is part of the circuit of the most beautiful villages in Italy and has been proclaimed &quot;Borgo dei borghi 2014&quot;.



In the territory of Gangi the most ancient finds date back to the ancient Bronze Age, in the period characterized by the culture of Castelluccio, as evidenced by the necropolis consisting of cave tombs found in the site of Serra del Vento and in the Regiovanni and Zappaiello districts, about ten kilometers from the present inhabited center.



It was long identified with the legendary Cretan city of Engyon. Accredited scholars, scholars of yesterday and today place Engio right in the parts of Gangi (locality of Gangivecchio or Monte Alburchia). Some archaeological evidence appears to confirm this.



An accredited long-standing historiography writes of the destruction of the town in 1299 by Frederick III during the war of the Vespers.



It was rebuilt on a nearby mountain: the Marone. The first historiographical documents attest to the existence of Gangi (then located in the original site of the Gangivecchio district) in the 12th century.



It was then included in the possessions of the county of Geraci: in 1195 Henry VI of Swabia, who in the previous year had subdued Sicily and had been crowned king, assigned to the de Craon family, in the person of Countess Guerrera, the uniforms relevant to the county , whose borders were defined including the territory of Gangi.



From the thirteenth century the county of Geraci passed under the domination of the noble Ventimiglia.



From the end of the 15th century, Gangi, like the rest of Sicily, now part of the Spanish Empire, was subject to the Inquisition. Here the prior of the Benedictines of Gangivecchio was tortured and executed.



In the mid-sixteenth century, censuses and revelations indicate a number of about 4,000 inhabitants, a thousand homes and as many families.



In about 1572 the company of the Whites was founded which welcomed the socially and economically most prominent elements of the gangitan society.



In 1625 an exponent of the Graffeo Maniaci family bought the territory of Gangi from the Ventimiglias, obtaining the title of Prince of Gangi in 1629 by concession of Philip IV of Spain. The title remained with the Graffeo until 1652, when it passed as a marriage dowry to the prince of Valguarnera, whose family kept the title until the nineteenth century.



Academies were founded in the eighteenth century. The best known was that of the industrialists within the Masonic world.



The Church of the Badia annexed to the Benedictine monastery was built on a project by Don Cataldo La Punzina, archpriest of the Church of San Nicol&ograve;. From the socio-economic point of view, the emphyteusis began to spread also concerning some lands of the church.



On 1 January 1926 the prefect Cesare Mori carried out what was probably his most famous action, that is what is remembered as the siege of Gangi, a stronghold of numerous criminal groups. With numerous men from the Carabinieri and the Police he had the village raided house by house, arresting bandits, mafia and various fugitives.



The methods implemented during this action were particularly harsh and Mori did not hesitate to use women and children as hostages to force the criminals to surrender.



Poster of the film &ldquo;Il Prefetto di ferro&rdquo; by Pasquale Squittirei from 1977

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