Editing Enna (section)

==History==
Enna is situated near the center of the island; whence the Roman writer [[Cicero]] called it ''Mediterranea maxime'', reporting that it was within a [[day's journey]] of the nearest point on all the three coasts. The peculiar situation of Enna is described by several ancient authors, and is one of the most remarkable in Sicily. The ancient city was placed on the level summit of a gigantic hill, surrounded on all sides with precipitous cliffs almost wholly inaccessible. The few paths were easily defended, and the city was abundantly supplied with water which gushes from the face of the rocks on all sides. With a plain or tableland of about {{convert|5|km}} in circumference on the summit, it formed one of the strongest natural fortresses in the world.{{fact|date=February 2023}}

===Prehistoric===
Archaeological excavations have revealed artifacts dating from the 14th century BC, proving human presence in the area since [[Neolithic]] times. A settlement from before the 11th century BC, assigned by some to the [[Sicani]]ans, has been identified at the top of the hill; later it was a center of the [[Sicels]].{{fact|date=February 2023}}

In historical times, Enna became renowned in Sicily and Italy for the cult of the goddess [[Demeter]] (the Roman [[Ceres (Roman mythology)|Ceres]]). Her grove was known as the ''umbilicus Siciliae'' ("The navel of Sicily"). Ceres' temple in Henna was a famed site of worship.<ref>{{cite book |first=Barbette S. |last=Spaeth | author-link = Barbette Spaeth |title=The Roman Goddess Ceres |pages=73-74, 78-79, 129 |publisher=U. of Texas Press |date=1996 |isbn=0-292-77693-4 }}</ref>

The origin of the toponym ''Henna'' remains obscure.{{fact|date=February 2023}}

===Classical period===
{{stack|[[Image:Rocca di cerere2.JPG|250px|thumb|The Rock of [[Ceres (mythology)|Ceres]], an important site for devotion to the goddess.]]}}
[[Dionysius I of Syracuse]] repeatedly attempted to take over Enna. At first he encouraged [[Aeimnestus]], a citizen of Enna, to seize the sovereign power. Afterward Dionysius I turned against him and assisted the Ennaeans to get rid of their despot. But it was not till a later period that, after repeated expeditions against the neighbouring Sicilian cities, Dionysius took control of the city by betrayal in 397 BC.<ref name="EB1911">{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Castrogiovanni|volume=5|page=484}}</ref>

[[Agathocles]] later controlled Enna. When the [[Agrigento|Agrigentines]] under [[Xenodicus]] began to proclaim the restoration of the other cities of Sicily to freedom, the Ennaeans were the first to join their standard, and opened their gates to Xenodicus, 309 BC. Accounts of the [[First Punic War]] repeatedly refer to Enna; it was taken first by the [[Carthage|Carthaginians]] under [[Hamilcar]], and subsequently recaptured by the [[ancient Rome|Romans]], but in both instances by treachery and not by force.{{fact|date=February 2023}}

In the [[Second Punic War]], while [[Marcus Claudius Marcellus|Marcellus]] was engaged in the siege of Syracuse (214 BC), Enna became the scene of a fearful massacre. The defection of several Sicilian towns from Rome had alarmed [[Pinaria gens|Pinarius]] the governor of Enna. In order to forestall any treachery, he used the Roman garrison to kill the citizens, whom he had gathered in the theater, and killed them all. The soldiers were allowed to plunder the city.{{fact|date=February 2023}}

Eighty years later Enna was the center of the [[First Servile War]] in Sicily (134 BC - 132 BC), which erupted under the lead of [[Eunus]], a former slave. His forces took over Enna. It was the last place that held out against the proconsul [[Rupilius]], and was at length betrayed into his hands. According to Strabo, the city suffered much damage after the Romans regained control. He believed this was the start of its decline.{{fact|date=February 2023}}

[[Cicero]] referred to it repeatedly in a way to suggest that it was still a flourishing [[municipium|municipal town]]: it had a fertile territory, well-adapted for the growth of cereal grains, and was diligently cultivated till it was rendered almost desolate by the exactions of [[Verres]]. From this time little is known about Enna: [[Strabo]] speaks of it as still inhabited in his time, though by a small population.  The name of Enna appears in [[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]] among the municipal towns of Sicily, as well as in [[Ptolemy]] and the ''Itineraries''.{{fact|date=February 2023}}

When the Roman Empire was divided in 395 AD, Sicily became part of the [[Western Roman Empire]]. The noted senatorial family of the Nicomachi had estates in Sicily. Around 408 AD the politician and grammarian [[Nicomachus Flavianus (son)|Nicomachus Flavianus]] worked on an edition of the first 10 books of [[Livy]] during a stay on his estate in Enna. This was recorded in the subscriptions of the manuscripts of Livy.{{fact|date=February 2023}}

===Middle Ages===
After the fall of the [[Western Roman Empire]], Enna flourished throughout the Middle Ages as an important [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] stronghold. In 859, in the course of the [[Islamic conquest of Sicily]], after several attempts and a long siege, the town was taken by Muslim troops, who entered one by one through a sewer to breach the town's defenses. Afterwards, 8,000 residents of the city were massacred by Muslim forces.<ref>[[Paul Fregosi]] (1998) ''Jihad in the West: Muslim Conquests from the 7th to the 21st Centuries'', pp. 132-133.</ref> The Arabic name for the city, ''Qaṣr Yānih'' ({{lang|ar|قصر يانه}}, "Fort of John"), was a combination of ''qaṣr'' (a corruption of the Latin ''castrum'', "fortress"), and a corruption of ''Henna''. The city retained its name in the local dialect of [[Sicilian language|Sicilian]] as ''Castru Janni'' (Italianized as ''Castrogiovanni''), until [[Benito Mussolini]] ordered renaming in 1927.{{fact|date=February 2023}}

The [[Italo-Normans|Normans]] captured Enna in 1087.<ref name="EB1911"/> [[Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick II]], Holy Roman Emperor and King of Sicily, established a summer residence here, which is now called the ''Torre di Federico'' ("Frederick Tower"). Troops of [[North Italy|North Italian]] soldiers,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ilcampanileenna.it/i-normanni.html|title=I Normanni - Il Campanile Enna}}</ref> from regions such as [[Lombardy]], [[Piedmont]], [[Liguria]] and [[Emilia-Romagna]], came to settle in the city and neighbouring towns such as [[Nicosia, Sicily|Nicosia]] and [[Piazza Armerina]]. [[Gallo-Italic of Sicily|Gallo-Italic dialects]] are still spoken in these areas, dating from this early occupation.{{fact|date=February 2023}}

Enna had a prominent role in the [[Sicilian Vespers]] and the ensuing [[War of the Sicilian Vespers]]. Forced to retreat to the Sicilian interior in during the [[Angevin invasion of Sicily|Angevin invasion]] of 1299, King [[Frederick III of Sicily]] chose the highly defensible Enna as his headquarters. The city blocked the Angevins from advancing into central Sicily, and an Angevin army attempting to advance on the city was defeated at the [[Battle of Gagliano]] in 1300.<ref>Stanton, Charles D. “LAURIA’S LAST GREAT CAMPAIGN (SUMMER 1299–SPRING 1300).” In ''Roger of Lauria (c.1250-1305): “Admiral of Admirals,”'' NED-New edition., 271–88. Boydell & Brewer, 2019. {{doi|10.2307/j.ctvd58tqg.23}}.</ref>

Frederick III favored the city, embellishing it with honors, and following the vespers era Enna enjoyed a short communal autonomy. However, it suffered a period of decay under the later Spanish domination.

=== Modern ===
Enna was restored as provincial capital in the 1920s. In 2002 it became a university city.{{fact|date=February 2023}}

The citizens of the city have a high incidence of [[multiple sclerosis]] (MS). MS is also prevalent in [[Sardinia]], which has the second highest incidence in the [[Mediterranean basin]].<ref>{{Cite journal|url=http://www.neurology.org/content/57/10/1891|doi=10.1212/WNL.57.10.1891|title=High incidence and increasing prevalence of MS in Enna (Sicily), southern Italy|year=2001|last1=Grimaldi|first1=L. M.E.|last2=Salemi|first2=G.|last3=Grimaldi|first3=G.|last4=Rizzo|first4=A.|last5=Marziolo|first5=R.|last6=Lo Presti|first6=C.|last7=Maimone|first7=D.|last8=Savettieri|first8=G.|journal=Neurology|volume=57|issue=10|pages=1891–1893|pmid=11723283|s2cid=34895995|url-access=subscription}}</ref>