The Butera Palace was the principal residence of the Branciforte family, princes of Butera, a title linked to the town in the hinterland of Gela from 1580. The building was constructed in the 17th century and then profoundly transformed in the 18th century, when the Branciforte made it their principal residence in Palermo.
The spectacular façade of nearly 120 metres, facing the Foro Italico and the sea, constitutes one of the vastest aristocratic fronts in the city.
Butera Palace
The architecture combines Baroque structures and later alterations, with an organisation around inner courtyards, grand monumental staircases and noble floors open onto the maritime landscape.
The museum and the interiors
The apartments of the piano nobile preserve a particularly rich 18th-century decor: frescoes by Gioacchino Martorana with pastoral and mythological themes, a chapel adorned with illusionistic paintings with a trompe-l’œil cupola, stuccoes, gilding and Sicilian ceramic floors.
Purchased in 2016 by the collector and gallery owner Massimo Valsecchi, the palace underwent a respectful restoration aimed at restoring the historic volumes while adapting them for museum use.
The Palazzo Butera museum today presents an eclectic collection blending ancient art, modern and contemporary works, ethnographic objects and non-Western creations, in a constant dialogue between historic architecture, urban landscape and current artistic practices.
Butera Palace 
Butera Palace
Where to find the Butera Palace in Palermo
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Information
Palazzo Butera From 13 January to 1 March: open Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 10 am to 7 pm (last admission at 6 pm). Sources and external sites
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