Sperlinga

You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Italian. (January 2022) Click [show] for important translation instructions. Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must follow the LLM translation guideline, revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing Italian Wikipedia article at [[:it:Sperlinga]]; see its history for attribution. You may also add the template {{Translated|it|Sperlinga}} to the talk page. For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation.

Sperlinga Spilliṅga (Sicilian)
Comune
Comune di Sperlinga
Sperlinga castle
Sperlinga Location within Italy Show map of Italy Sperlinga Location within Sicily Show map of Sicily
Coordinates: 37°46′N 14°21′E / 37.767°N 14.350°E / 37.767; 14.350
Country	Italy
Region	Sicily
Province	Enna (EN)
Government
• Mayor	Giuseppe Cuccì
Area
• Total	59.14 km2 (22.83 sq mi)
Elevation	750 m (2,460 ft)
Population  (2026)
• Total	639
• Density	10.8/km2 (28.0/sq mi)
Demonym	Sperlinghesi
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	94010
Dialing code	0935
Website	comune.sperlinga.en.it

Sperlinga (Sicilian: Spilliṅga) is a village and comune (municipality) in the Province of Enna in the autonomous island region of Sicily in southern Italy, located about 20 kilometres (12 mi) northeast of Enna and 90 kilometres (56 mi) southeast of Palermo. It has 639 inhabitants.

Sperlinga borders the municipalities of Gangi and Nicosia.

It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages of Italy").

History

The village is first mentioned (as "Sperlingua") in a privilege of the Norman Count Roger from 1082.^: 542 The first information on the castle is from 1113, and the earliest direct reference to it from 1239.

Sperlinga reputedly did not participate in the Sicilian Vespers, the bloody uprising against the Angevin French rulers of Sicily in 1282, and may have offered them protection. An inscription over a door of the castle formerly read quod Siculis placuit sola Sperlinga negavit, or roughly "what pleased the Sicilians, only Sperlinga denied".

From about 1360 Sperlinga was held by the Ventimiglia family.^: 542 In 1597 it was sold for 30,834 ounces of gold to Giovanni Natoli,^: 542 who was granted a licentia populandi or "licence to populate" by the king of Sicily, Philip II of Spain, and was made Prince of Sperlinga in 1627.^: 542 His son Francesco sold Sperlinga in 1656 to Giovanni Stefano Oneto, but retained the princely title. Oneto was made Duke of Sperlinga in 1666 by Charles II of Spain.^: 542

During the Allied invasion of Sicily, in the Second World War, Allied forces under General Allen, including American infantry and tank units and Moroccan Goumiers, moved past Sperlinga to envelop Nicosia, a few kilometres to the south. They met strong resistance. After a show of force by American tanks, the Axis forces withdrew from Sperlinga and Nicosia during the night of 27 July 1943. Units of the American 16th Infantry Regiment entered Sperlinga the next morning.

Geography

Sperlinga is at about 750 m above sea level, on a hill on the southern slopes of the Nebrodi mountains. It has a number of troglodyte dwellings. The village is dominated by a large mediaeval castle, dating from late Norman times.

Demographics

As of 2026, the population is 639, of which 49.5% are males, and 50.5% are females. Minors make up 8.9% of the population, and seniors make up 32.7%.

At the end of 2014, the population was 819 people in 344 families.

Economy

The principal economic activities of Sperlinga are agriculture and animal husbandry.

References

Media related to Sperlinga at Wikimedia Commons