Leonforte Leonforte was founded in 1610 with a Licentia populandi granted to Nicolò Placido Branciforti (the Licentia populandi was the permission given to earls and feudatories to populate a feud). Its name derives from the coat of arms of the Branciforti Family, which represents a lion holding up a flag with the stumps of its forelegs, whose extremities lie on the ground. The structure developed with an extension of the old build-up area up to the Eastern side and the creation of a regular urban fabric on a median axis. This axis is represented by the modern Corso Umberto, which seems to represent the body of a lying man. His head is composed by the feudal palace and the cathedral, his viscera are represented by the round Piazza Margherita and his feet by the wide stretch, which once opened on the so called “u chianu de pipituna”. This is probably a corruption of the Spanish Llano de los pedones. The structure of Leonforte contributes to materialize a complex social concept, which considers the feudal nobility and the Church as the thinking drive, the gentry as the metabolizing viscera and the force as the common people. The prince loved certainly those places and for this reason he wanted Leonforte not only to increase the source of income of his family, whose descent was very renowned, but also to create a sort of feudal court around his magnificent residence at Palazzo Branciforti. This palace is a real manor-house built on a bastion, which dominates the Crisa Valley. The area of the ancient Tavi can be the starting point of an itinerary. In fact, at Branciforti the foot of the bastion there is still a tortuous Medieval area crossed by the main road Enna Catania, which in its turn crosses the sources of the Crisa Dittaino Valley. Some of these sources were used in order to create an excellent Baroque scenery, the Granfonte (1652) attributed to Smeriglio (he is from Palermo). It is a large and high wall with arched niches overlooking the valley below. Water flows from twenty-four “cannoli ” (pipes) reaching the drinking-trough and it is channelled going down towards the rear of the mountain outside the walls and beyond the Palermo door. This system allowed to feed the wash-tubs, the spinning-mill and the “saje” of the rich irrigated cotton, hemp, flax and rice fields. Near the fountain there is the Chiesa del Carmelo, which is probably the oldest church built before the foundation of Leonforte. It has a neoclassical style and its linear facade is characterized by corner pilasters and a bell gable. Beyond the church there is a beautiful fountain, the Fontana delle Ninfe (the fountain of the nymphs). This fountain, which is prior to the greatest one, has a familiar aspect and it appears as the commemorative nymphaeum of the birth of the Crisa standing inside a garden, a pastime intended for the princely court. The fountain was built in 1636. It houses the statues of Crisa, which is the guardian god of those places, and of Artemide. Nowadays this area houses the young ecological museum of Leonforte. The Church of Santo Stefano (The Church of St. Stephan) stands in the oldest area. It has a centric plan on a solid wall. Following the decision of G.B. Falciglia in 1657 the Church replaced a homonymous Medieval church, where probably the Greek religion was professed. The church contains some D'Urso's stuccoes dating back to the 18th century and some paintings. In Piazza Soprana, in front of Palazzo Branciforti, there is the wonderful Mother church dedicated to St. John The Baptist. The large façade overlooks a fenced square. In
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