Gangi

Gangi is a town of 5,918 people (ISTAT estimate at 1 January 2026) at 1,011 metres, in the interior of the Madonie, province of Palermo. In 2014 it won the title of Borgo dei Borghi. You come for the stone old town that spirals up Monte Marone, for the Ventimiglia tower, for the Last Judgement by the Zoppo di Gangi in the mother church and for the Fossa dei Parrini.

You can walk around it in half a day, with some breath for the climbs. Arriving from Petralia, with Etna in the background, you immediately see why everyone photographs it.

Gangi at a glance

The key facts, with sources listed at the bottom of the page.

Where	Inner Madonie, province of Palermo, in the Madonie UNESCO Global Geopark (outside the Madonie Park)
Altitude	1,011 m
Population	5,918 (ISTAT estimate at 1 January 2026)
From Palermo	117 km, about 1 hour 40 minutes (A19 Tremonzelli exit, SS120)
From Catania	147 km, about 2 hours (A19 Irosa exit, SS290, SS120)
From Cefalù	58 km, about 1 hour
Patron saint	San Cataldo, feast on 10 May
Don’t miss	Piazza del Popolo, Last Judgement, Fossa dei Parrini, Palazzo Bongiorno

A short history

There are rock-cut chamber tombs from the Early Bronze Age in Gangi’s territory. For centuries scholars identified the town with Engyon, a city that, according to myth, was founded by Cretans who came to Sicily following Minos. The Minotaur on the town’s coat of arms comes from there.

The first documented settlement, in the 12th century, stood in the Gangivecchio district. According to a long historical tradition it was destroyed in 1299, during the War of the Vespers, and rebuilt on Monte Marone, where it stands today.

From the 13th century Gangi was part of the county of Geraci, held by the Ventimiglia, who built the castle and the tower. In 1625 the town passed to the Graffeo, who in 1629 became princes of Gangi, and then to the Valguarnera.

Between the 16th and 17th centuries Gangi became the most populous town in the high Madonie. It was the age of the painters Giuseppe Salerno and Gaspare Vazzano, both of whom signed as “lo Zoppo di Gangi”. On 1 January 1926 the prefect Cesare Mori carried out his most famous operation here against bandits and mafiosi, remembered as the siege of Gangi.

What to see in Gangi

The old town is split in two. The upper part, once enclosed by 14th-century walls, holds the main buildings; the lower part drops down narrow, steep streets.

Piazza del Popolo and the Ventimiglia tower

This is the heart of town. It is dominated by the 14th-century Ventimiglia tower, with its Catalan Gothic mullioned windows: it began as a watchtower and became the bell tower of the mother church. In a corner of the square is the Fontana del Leone, from 1931.

From the viewpoint you see the roofs of the lower town and the countryside. At the foot of Monte Marone stands the cylindrical tower known as the “Saracen” tower, of medieval origin.

The mother church of San Nicolò and the Last Judgement

The mother church is dedicated to Saint Nicholas of Bari. It was built in the 14th century with a single nave and enlarged in the 16th and 17th centuries. Inside, to the left of the presbytery, hangs Gangi’s most famous painting: the 1629 Last Judgement by Giuseppe Salerno, modelled on Michelangelo’s in the Sistine Chapel. There are also wooden statues by Filippo Quattrocchi.

The Fossa dei Parrini

Beneath the mother church is a crypt that locals call fossa di parrini, the priests’ pit. It holds the mummified bodies of the priests who served in town between 1725 and 1872, and of a few lay people. We found no published visiting hours: ask at the parish or the tourist office.

Corso Umberto and Palazzo Bongiorno

The finest palaces face Corso Umberto I. Palazzo Bongiorno, built by the family of the same name in the 18th century, is one of the best examples of that century’s architecture in the Madonie. The rooms of the main floor were frescoed by the Roman painter Gaspare Fumagalli with his father-in-law Pietro Martorana. From 1758 the palace hosted the Accademia degli Industriosi; today it belongs to the town council.

Along the street you also find the 19th-century Palazzo Mocciaro and Palazzo Sgadari.

Palazzo Sgadari: Museo Civico and Pinacoteca Gianbecchina

Palazzo Sgadari houses the Museo Civico, with finds from the Monte Alburchia area and Gangi Vecchio, from the 7th-6th century BC to the early Christian period, plus an ethnographic section and one on weapons. The same building holds the gallery dedicated to Gianbecchina (1909-2001), a painter deeply attached to Gangi. The phone number given by the Borghi più belli d’Italia association is +39 0921 689907: call for opening hours. To compare it with the other museums in the area there is the guide to the museums of the Madonie.

The other churches

Gangi has a church on almost every corner. The ones not to skip:

• Chiesa del Santissimo Salvatore, in the lower town: a wooden crucifix by Fra’ Umile da Petralia, the Spasimo di Sicilia by Giuseppe Salerno (1612) and a bell tower with a Moorish spire.
• Chiesa della Madonna della Catena, with a portal from 1647 and two statues of the Madonna, one in marble from the Gagini workshop and one in wood from the 18th century. Giuseppe Salerno is buried here.
• Chiesa di San Cataldo, from the first half of the 14th century, with Salerno’s Martyrdom of the Ten Thousand (1618).
• Chiesa di Santa Maria di Gesù, with the Annunciation by Filippo Quattrocchi, considered his masterpiece.
• Santuario dello Spirito Santo, with a 13th-14th century image of Christ Pantocrator that became the apse.

The castle and Gangi Vecchio

The early 14th-century Ventimiglia castle stands in the upper town. It is private and closed to the public: you see it from outside, on Piazza Valguarnera. The other castles in the area are in the guide to the castles of the Madonie. A few kilometres away, the Abbazia di Gangi Vecchio began in 1363 as a Benedictine monastery; today it is a private residence.

Things to do in and around Gangi

Gangi is a good starting point for the inland side of the Madonie.

• Tour the villages. Geraci Siculo, with the ruins of the Ventimiglia castle, is 14 km away; Petralia Soprana and Petralia Sottana about a quarter of an hour along the SS120.
• The Ventimiglia castles. Castelbuono, Geraci and Gangi in one day: follow our Ventimiglia castles itinerary.
• The mountains. Via Petralia Sottana you reach Piano Battaglia in about 35 km, with the trails to Pizzo Carbonara.
• Photography. Gangi’s most famous view is from the SS120 as you arrive, with the pyramid-shaped town and Etna behind.

More ideas on things to do in Gangi.

What to eat in Gangi

Gangi’s cooking follows wheat and pasture.

• Pasta ccu maccu. Ditaloni pasta with a purée of green broad beans.
• Roast castrato. Young mutton roasted with potatoes, red wine, rosemary and spices.
• Fried salt cod with wild fennel, a Lenten dish.
• Cheeses and cured meats from local farms.
• Sweets: cucchia at Christmas, shortcrust with almonds, raisins and dried figs, and mastacuttè, biscuits of flour, sugar and prickly pear juice.

To pick a table, see where to eat in Gangi.

Festivals and events in Gangi

The periods below are the usual ones. Dates and programmes for the year are on each event page.

Period	Event
Palm Sunday	Palm procession with drums
10 May	Feast of San Cataldo, patron saint
Whit Monday	Feast of the Holy Spirit and the Miracula rite
First half of August, nine days	Sagra della Spiga and Corteo di Demetra
A Saturday in late August	Notte Bianca di Gangi
First weekend of September	Mostra dell’Artigianato and Mado Cooking Together
26-29 December	Living nativity “Da Nazareth a Betlemme”

About forty statues of saints take part in the Holy Spirit procession, running three times across the sanctuary forecourt. The Sagra della Spiga ends with the Corteo di Demetra and with ’U Pisatu, a dialect comedy about life in the fields. The full calendar is on events in Gangi.

When to go to Gangi

At over a thousand metres, winters are cold and summers cooler than on the coast.

• Spring: Holy Week, San Cataldo and the Feast of the Holy Spirit. Green fields around the town.
• Summer: the liveliest time, with the Sagra della Spiga and the Notte Bianca. Evenings are pleasant even in August.
• Autumn: warm light on the stone, fewer people, wheat fields already harvested.
• Winter: cold and sometimes snow; between 26 and 29 December there is the living nativity.

Before you leave, check the Gangi weather.

How to get to Gangi

You need a car. We calculated the distances with OSRM on OpenStreetMap data, without traffic.

From	Distance	Time	Road
Palermo	117 km	1 h 42 min	A19 Tremonzelli exit, SS120
Catania	147 km	2 h	A19 Irosa exit, SS290, SS120
Cefalù	58 km	1 h 3 min	SS113, SS286 via Castelbuono and Geraci, SS120
Petralia Sottana	16 km	19 min	SS120
Geraci Siculo	14 km	15 min	SS286, SS120

In winter, the ANAS 2025/2026 order required snow chains on board or winter tyres on the SS120 from km 25, from 1 December to 31 March. Current rules and alerts are in our guide to driving in the Madonie.

Where to stay and where to eat

You can stay in the centre or at a farmhouse in the surrounding countryside. The updated lists, with a source for each listing, are on where to stay in Gangi and where to eat in Gangi. For walks nearby, see trails near Gangi.