Ruins of Entella in Contessa Entellina
The remains of the mythical city of Entella arise on the R occa di Entella . The city of Entella is of Elymian origin , it was founded in the 6th century BC. by the survivors of the Trojan War who founded three strongholds in Sicily: Erice, Segesta and Entella. Entella was an important urban center and was the last stronghold of the Muslim resistance to the Latin penetration of the island. It was destroyed by Frederick II in 1246.
The top of the fortress is the vast plateau of Entella where the urban settlement developed. On the southern edge of the Entella area, at the point from which the two valleys where the Entella plateau branch off, in a dominant and fairly central position with respect to the built-up area, there are the ruins of an Arab-Norman castle. . Along the slopes of the fortress there are the beautiful pit tombs of the necropolis . Unfortunately, there are only ruins in the area but the grandeur of the surviving monoliths testifies to the glorious past of the site.
In the castle of Entella the presence of walls of limited thickness, incorporated by the subsequent thicker walls , testify to the pre-existence of an unfortified single-storey residential building, probably dating back to the 11th century. With the erection of the large surrounding wall, the structure then reaches its final dimensions, altered only with the addition of the guardhouse and the access tower. Inside the courtyard of the castle there are traces of an interesting barrel vaulted cistern.
The remains of the agora of the city are located on a large plateau, just below the castle. You see a few ruins of what has been identified as the city market where there are several separate rooms, the shops. It is the best preserved structure of Entella from the 5th century BC ..
Among the finds found in the archaeological area of Entella of considerable interest are the so-called " Nakone Decrees ", bronze tablets drawn up in the third century BC, in order to seal and regulate the recomposition of a conflict that had struck the city, now preserved in the archaeological museum of Palermo.
