Contessa Entellina is considered the oldest Albanian settlement in Italy and is a place that still preserves the Arbëreshë language and the Byzantine rite. Built in 1450 on the ruins of the ancient medieval hamlet of Comitissa, it was in fact built by a group of Albanian exiles who fled their lands to escape the Ottoman invasion: due to the peculiar identity handed down for over six centuries by its inhabitants, it is today an ethnic, linguistic and religious oasis of great cultural charm. But the settlement in the Contessa area is much older: proof of this is the Rocca di Entella, the ancient city of the Elimi where the bronze tablets known as the Decrees of Nakone, dating back to the time of the first Punic war, were found, and the grandiose Olivetan Abbey of Santa Maria del Bosco, a monumental complex from the 13th century. Worth a visit is the Antiquarium Giuseppe Nenci, which preserves finds of extraordinary archaeological interest. In the territory, the most significant areas from a naturalistic point of view are represented by the Grotta di Entella integral nature reserve, the Santa Maria del Bosco forest and Lake Garcia