Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
Macchu Picchu
Peru • 10 days, 9 nights
Peru: Machu Picchu & the Last Incan Bridges
from
Central Asia yurt night stars
Uzbekistan • 15 days, 14 nights
Central Asia Road Trip: Backroads & Bazaars
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
Saquon Barkley Plaque
Kirkkasik Bedesten inside
Kirkkasik Bedesten
Someshwar Temple
Someshwar Temple
Grilled cheese and tomato soup are soulmates.
The Palisades Restaurant
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
The local catch is delicious fried as well.
Terry's of Charlevoix
Carlson’s Fishery is a Great Lakes institution.
Carlson’s Fishery
The Cathedral Café maintains the building’s original church exterior.
Cathedral Café
Exterior of the historic Dyffryn Arms pub.
Dyffryn Arms
Most of what’s on the menu here comes from Michigan.
The Glenwood
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
Siegfried Tieber specializes in sleight-of-hand magic using small objects, as well as mentalism, which gives the illusion of reading minds.
Does a Magician Really Never Reveal Their Tricks? AO Wants to Know.
13 days ago
Decoy’s wines reflect the terroir of California.
How a Wooden Duck Migrated From the California Wetlands to a Wine Label
15 days ago
There’s more to the French capital than the Eiffel Tower.
Dear Atlas: What Are Some Non-Touristy Things to Do in Paris?
19 days ago
The plants around Liz Dauncey in this photo are not poisonous, but many common garden and houseplants are.
Are Some of Your Favorite Houseplants Poisonous? AO Wants to Know.
26 days ago

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All Italy Sciacca Il Castello Incantato

Il Castello Incantato

A madman's personal garden filled with 1,000 sculpted heads.

Sciacca, Italy

Added By
ser flac
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
  http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/...
  http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/...
(Outsider Environments Europe)   http://outsider-environments.blogspot.com/...
  http://www.consorziodeitempli.ag.it/tl_fil...
  gingercinnamon / Atlas Obscura User
  prakva / Atlas Obscura User
  prakva / Atlas Obscura User
2020-10-11   prakva / Atlas Obscura User
  prakva / Atlas Obscura User
  prakva / Atlas Obscura User
  prakva / Atlas Obscura User
  prakva / Atlas Obscura User
  gingercinnamon / Atlas Obscura User
  gingercinnamon / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

In 1929, Filippo Bentivegna left the United States after only 7 years and was a changed man. According to some, he had been assaulted and sustained brain damage. Others claimed his mind had begun to unravel after a woman broke his heart. Although the details are unclear, when he returned to his hometown of Sciacca in Sicily, he began a massive sculpture garden and was considered the village madman.

Having skipped out on military service under Mussolini to live in America, a prison sentence greeted Bentivegna when he returned to Italy. Luckily, or unluckily, he was declared too insane to serve his sentence, and instead bought a small plot of land on the outskirts of Sciacca. Living alone, he built a small cabin and began to develop the rocky land he had purchased.

Since there was little else he could do with his lot, he began to carve heads from the rocky outcroppings on his property. Resembling people he had met in America and in Italy, he spent the next 35 years sculpting until his garden had reached a total of more than 1,000 heads. During his life, his work was never appreciated, and his eccentric behavior earned him the title of village madman.

After his death in 1967, his family made his works a tourist site, where people began to come from all around Sicily to see the carvings, and a series of simplistic frescoes Bentivegna did inside his cabin. Renamed the Enchanted Castle, the under-appreciated works of this madman are now a major draw for visitors in Southern Sicily.

Related Tags

Outsider Art
Atlas Obscura Adventures

Flavors of Italy: Roman Carbonara, Florentine Steak & Venetian Cocktails

Savor local cuisine across Rome, Florence & Venice.

Book Now

Community Contributors

Added By

serflac

Edited By

baileymichael, atimian, gingercinnamon, prakva

  • baileymichael
  • atimian
  • gingercinnamon
  • prakva

Published

January 26, 2012

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • http://outsider-environments.blogspot.com/2009/01/filippo-bentivegna-il-castillo.html
Il Castello Incantato
Sciacca, 92019
Italy
37.505688, 13.080469

Nearby Places

Cretto di Burri

Gibellina Vecchia, Italy

miles away

Cave of Cusa

Campobello di Mazara, Italy

miles away

Teatro Andromeda

Santo Stefano Quisquina, Italy

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Italy

Italy

Europe

Places 1,054
Stories 110

Nearby Places

Cretto di Burri

Gibellina Vecchia, Italy

miles away

Cave of Cusa

Campobello di Mazara, Italy

miles away

Teatro Andromeda

Santo Stefano Quisquina, Italy

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Italy

Italy

Europe

Places 1,054
Stories 110

Related Places

  • Austin, Texas

    ‘Malin’s Fountain’

    An 18-foot-tall troll sculpture, made from recycled wood and materials found in nature.

  • Savannah, Georgia

    ‘Black Holocaust Memorial’

    Papier-mâché folk art recognizing horrors of slave trade.

  • Brussels, Belgium

    ‘The Container’

    In the middle of a Brussels roundabout, a cargo container balancing on its edge.

  • Gummy bear statue

    Boadilla del Monte, Spain

    El Oso Verde (The Green Bear)

    This larger-than-life lime green gummy bear sits in the middle of a roundabout in Spain.

  • Gene Frankel Theater

    New York, New York

    'Dreams of Hyperion'

    A unique collection of figures perform down the facade of the Gene Frankel Theatre.

  • Kyoto, Japan

    Chaos Room

    A nondescript building is home to a one-room museum filled with an overwhelming array of art and objects.

  • Mound House, Nevada

    VW Beetle Spider

    On the side of Highway 50 East, between Carson City and Dayton, Nevada, sits a giant metal spider made from a vintage Volkswagen Beetle.

  • Tres Piedras, New Mexico

    $CRAP$ Shrine

    It is intended to take one back to a stripped-down simplicity, to spend extended time both inside and out, and absorb the natural drama of the Upper Rio Grande Valley.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.