Donnafugata Castle: fiction, legend and reality!

Place of enchanting beauty, the Donnafugata Castle is today a noble residence available for all kinds of events. Every tourist visiting the Sicilian area of Ragusa cannot leave without stopping in this wonderful place. The air you breathe around the building is almost surreal. Let's find out why.

Donnafugata Castle, from old times to Montalbano

The Fortress is just 15 km from Ragusa. While reaching the place you start breathing a truly suggestive atmosphere. To arrive at the Donnafugata Castle, in fact, you take a long road lined with olive trees, carob trees and dry stone walls.

The Castle was built by Baron Corrado Arezzi in the late 1800s. The name derives from a legendary story. In fact, it is said of a woman on the run,  “donna fugata in sicilian", specifically the White Queen of Navarre who, as a widow, became the object of the desire of the perfidious Count Cabrera. The man managed to capture and imprison her in the Castle from which she later fled.

The legend, however, was defined as such because of an inconsistency between the dates of the events and the real historical period in which the two characters lived.

The building stands on 2500 square meters and consists of 122 rooms. The external structure is in typical Gothic style. The interior is a sequence of rooms which over the years have inspired numerous directors.

We remind you that the Castle was the set of the famous film "The Leopard". And more recently it has become the setting of a mafioso's home in the series inspired by Camilleri's books, "Il Commissario Montalbano".

Luca Zingaretti, the actor who plays Montalano, was so fascinated by the Castle that he chose it as the location for his wedding.

A wonderful garden extends outside the fortress: here a stone labyrinth represents the playful aspect of the Castle.

A few meters from the entrance, you can stop in a well-known local restaurant to taste the typical products of the Sicilian cooking tradition.

Donnafugata Castle is one of the most chosen Sicilian tourist destinations all year long. The location also hosts several events, including Arcadia-Comics & Games (international comic book fair), the Donnafugata Film Festival and the Wine Show Festival (Sicilian wine festival).

To reach the Castle of Donnafugata, the most direct route is from Ragusa. Here it will be possible to take the bus, as the castle is about 20 km away. Of course, the main close cities can be reached both by plane and by train.

For those who still have to choose where to stay while visiting the Castle, Sicilia Case Vacanze with its website will allow you to see and book different types of accommodation in the most strategic points of Ragusa.