The Donnafugata Castle, situated in
proximity to Santa Croce Camerina, about 20km from Ragusa is a major attraction for
tourists. Thanks to its scenery, it was the setting of many films. The name of Donnafugata.
which is Arabic in origin, is misleading. It does not, in fact, refer, as first
appearances might suggest, to a woman fleeing some tyrannical husband or father, nor to
one of the legends lingering in some popular memory, but is a free interpretation and
transcription of Ayn as Jafat (meaning Fountain of Health) which in Sicilian dalect became
Ronnafuata and so was corrupted to its modem form of Donnafugata.
The origins of the building, furthermore, are more recent than the name. The oldest
part of Donnafugata Castle (which includes the square tower) dates back to the mid-17C
when the Donnafugata fiefdom was acquired by Vincenzo Arezzo La Rocca. The Donnafugata
castle was continuously altered until the early 20C, when Corrado Arezzo transformed the
façade into what can be seen today.
What is striking about the exterior of the Donnafugata castle is the elegant Venetian
Gothic loggia which dominates the central section of the main facade. The trefoil arches
become a recurrent motif repeated in the two-light windows throughout the building.
The large garden of Donnafugata castle, shaded first by large Ficus
magnolioides trees then by other Mediterranean and exotic species (succulents and cluster
pines) conceals various follies intended to charm and bemuse its visitors. Like the round
temple and a Coffee House (where refreshments could be taken), the stone maze and several
artificial caves encrusted with fake stalactites (below the temple).
The first floor of Catle of Donnafugata is open to the public. At the
top of the black stone (pietra pece in Italian) staircase, ornamented with Neo-Classical
statues, is the Salone degli Stemmi named after the armorial crests of great Sicilian
noble families painted on the walls. Among the suites of rooms are some with delicately
painted trompe l’oeil ceilings. These include the stucco-decorated Salone degli
Specchi (namely the Hall of Mirroms), the Billiard Room and Music Room, each with painted
landscapes projecting out beyond the walls, and the bedroom of the Princess of Navarre,
paved in black pietra pece (a bitumous limestone mined locally from which pitch is made)
and white limestone, where, it is said, Princess Bianca was kept segregated from Count
Cabrera (an anachronistc legend, given that the princess lived in the 14C). The Stanza del
Signore and the Fumoir are beautifully furnished; the decoration of the latter, a smoking
room, being perfectly appropriate to its function. It is papered with pipe motifs while
the ceiling is painted with medallions filled with cards and beautiful peacocks at the
corners.
The castle of Donnafugata has been featured in the making of many
famous films including the La Giara scene in the film Chaos by the Taviani brothers.
