Chiaramonte Steri Palace in Palermo

The Chiaramonte Palace (also called Steri, from Hosterium, fortified palace), is located on Piazza Marina.
It was built at the beginning of the 14th century, by Manfred Chiaramonte, the powerful count of Modica. The Chiaramonte family, of Franco-Norman origin, left its mark on the entire island in the 14th century.

History and description of the palace

Chiaramonte Steri Palace

Several buildings surrounded a courtyard. A third floor was added in the second half of the 14th century. Note the richness of the decoration of the windows.

With the arrival of the Aragonese kings in 1392, the last Chiaramonte lord, Andrea, was beheaded in front of his princely residence. The Steri Palace, confiscated, then became the residence of the Spanish viceroys until the first half of the 16th century. It also housed the customs office. Then it became the seat of the tribunal of the Inquisition, from 1601 to 1782. In 1623, another building was constructed to accommodate cells and thus respond to the appetite of the Catholic Inquisition.
It is now the Seat of the presidency (rector) of the University of Palermo.

The 20th-century restoration was strongly contested, having eliminated historical elements, such as the barons’ staircase, the antique clock, cells and more generally everything that recalled the Inquisition.

With a square and massive volume, the building marks the transition between the medieval castle and the patrician palace.

The Great Hall (Sala Magna), also known as the Hall of the Barons, has a very beautiful painted wooden ceiling from the 14th century. The paintings, among the most interesting of the Middle Ages, depict scenes in which chivalric adventures, episodes from courtly romances, battle scenes, knights and ladies, and medieval towns follow one another. This popular art is characteristic of the emergence at that time of a secular and refined class.

In the prisons of the Steri, now a museum, precious graffiti bear witness to the sufferings endured under the Ancien Régime. Beneath the plaster, among other things, invocations of prisoners accused of witchcraft have been found.

Gallery

Where is the Chiaramonte Steri Palace

Information and visit

Palaces and theatres of Palermo