It is the story of Princess Adelasia, an enigmatic and tragic figure whose spirit, according to tradition, never left the fortress that sheltered her in her final days.
Adelasia, niece of Roger I of Hauteville, was a Norman noblewoman struck by misfortune. Stripped of her possessions and fallen into disgrace, she found refuge in the Castle of Pietrarossa, which once dominated the Nissena valley from the hilltop.
It is said that the princess died within those walls, dressed in a green velvet gown and wearing a crown on her head, and that she was buried in the castle’s chapel. However, after the partial collapse of the fortress, her remains were moved to the Church of San Domenico by order of Donna Luisa Moncada. But her spirit never found peace.
From time to time, on the quietest nights, some claim to hear a faint weeping coming from the ruins. It is Adelasia, still wandering among the castle stones, consumed by grief over the loss of her child and by the regret of never having seen her beloved Roger crowned king of Sicily. A broken mother, a restless soul unable to detach from the earthly world.
Another legend links Adelasia’s figure to the very name of Caltanissetta. The Arabic toponym Qalʿat al-Nisā means “castle of women,” and some believe that Adelasia’s presence was the origin of this denomination, making her the symbolic female figure of the city.