Sperlinga

During the Sicilian Vespers of 1282 a French garrison held out here for over a year, and a Latin line in the castle recalls that only Sperlinga refused what pleased the rest of Sicily. The castle is partly cut into a huge sandstone outcrop, and rows of cave dwellings line the lanes below. Lombard settlers arrived after the Normans, and a Gallo-Italic dialect is still spoken.

Highlights

• The rock castle, partly carved into the sandstone and partly built on it
• The cave quarter of the Balzo, with dwellings dug in rows and tiers
• Sagra del Tortone, a local sweet, on 16 August outside the castle
• Contrada Capostrà, where Robert Capa took his famous photograph in 1943

Summary based on Wikipedia and Wikivoyage (CC BY-SA), written with AI assistance.