Lake Pergusa (''Pergoussa'', Πυργούσσα in

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

) is a lake in

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

, set between a group of mountains in the Erean Mountains chain near

Pergusa Pergusa is an Italian village of Sicily. It is a ''frazione'' of Enna, the administrative seat of the same-named province. Geography Pergusa lies in hills about 10 km south of Enna. Pergusa is reached by the ''Enna-Gela Road'', which allow ...

, 5 km from

Enna Enna ( or ; ; , less frequently ), known from the Middle Ages until 1926 as Castrogiovanni ( ), is a city and located roughly at the center of Sicily, southern Italy, in the province of Enna, towering above the surrounding countryside. It has e ...

, Italy. It is a vital stop in the migratory trajectory of a great number of birds. In addition to birds, which are by far the main inhabitants of the Pergusa nature reserve, there are also interesting species of mammals, reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates found here. At an elevation of 670 m, the lake's surface area is 1.83 km².

Overview

The lake is encircled by the most important racing track of Southern Italy, the

Autodromo di Pergusa The Autodromo di Pergusa is an automobile and motorcycle racing circuit, circuit that encircles the only Sicilian natural lake, Pergusa Lake. The circuit is also known as Enna-Pergusa, as the lake is located near the city of Enna. Overview Duri ...

, that hosts international competitions and events, such as

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

Formula 3000 Formula 3000 (F3000) was a type of open wheel, single seater formula racing, occupying the tier immediately below Formula One and above Formula Three. It was so named because the cars were powered by 3.0 L engines. Formula 3000 championship ...

and a Ferrari Festival that has featured Formula One star

Michael Schumacher Michael Schumacher (; born 3 January 1969) is a German former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to and from to . Schumacher won a record-setting seven Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, tied by Lewis Hamilton in ...

. In the area of Lake Pergusa, an archeological site known as ''Cozzo Matrice'' can be found. This site essentially houses the ruins of an old fortified village, containing imposing walls constructed around the 9th millennium BC, a sacred citadel, an opulent

necropolis A necropolis (: necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'' (). The term usually implies a separate burial site at a distan ...

and the remains of an ancient temple dedicated to

Demeter In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Demeter (; Attic Greek, Attic: ''Dēmḗtēr'' ; Doric Greek, Doric: ''Dāmā́tēr'') is the Twelve Olympians, Olympian goddess of the harvest and agriculture, presiding over cro ...

, dating back more than 2,000 years. An important forest and vegetation zone named Selva Pergusina (meaning "Pergusa Wood") surrounds part of the Lake Pergusa Valley, producing a striking panorama. In antiquity, the lake was said to be the site where

Persephone In ancient Greek mythology and Ancient Greek religion, religion, Persephone ( ; , classical pronunciation: ), also called Kore ( ; ) or Cora, is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. She became the queen of the Greek underworld, underworld afte ...

was abducted by

Hades Hades (; , , later ), in the ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, is the god of the dead and the king of the Greek underworld, underworld, with which his name became synonymous. Hades was the eldest son of Cronus and Rhea ...

References

External links

Enna tourist page

Province of Enna
Lakes of Sicily Enna {{Sicily-geo-stub