Beyond this page dedicated to the most remarkable palaces in Catania, you can also find in the article dedicated to Via Etnea (Palazzo dell’Università, etc.) other interesting buildings that can be discovered along this street and in the squares it crosses.
Palazzo Biscari in Catania
A few steps east of Piazza Duomo, Palazzo Biscari (Via Museo Biscari, 29), is perhaps the most important monument in the city, in any case the finest example of Baroque architecture in Catania. It is built partly on the 16th-century city walls erected by Charles V.]
After the 1693 earthquake, it was rebuilt from 1700 by Ignazio III Paternò Castello, prince of Biscari (1643-1699), with extensions by his son Vincenzo and especially his grandson Ignazio V (1719-1786), a scholar and archaeologist. The latter also installed there a museum with his important archaeological collection, the “Ignazio V collection”, including archaeological, numismatic and natural history pieces, which was accessible to European scholars, a large part of which is now in the Castello Ursino in Catania.
The west facade, facing the sea, displays allegorical reliefs sculpted by Antonino Amato, representing Abundance, Prosperity, Fertility and Wisdom, a style influenced by Spain.
One enters the palace through a vast door, leading to the central courtyard with a large double-ramp staircase.
Inside, one can visit in particular the Ballroom and its rococo style embellished with mirrors, frescoes and stuccoes. The small central dome, where the orchestra was installed, is covered with a fresco representing the Glory of the Paternò Castello di Biscari family, painted by Sebastiano Lo Monaco.
Among the other rooms, marked by rococo decorations and furniture. The sala dei Feudi (hall of the fiefs) is decorated with frescoes with scenes of the quarrels of the Biscari family, large canvases representing the feudatories and the lands of the Biscari. The princess’s apartments with their woodwork and Roman marbles on the floor that were reused there, installed by Ignazio V for his wife. The bird gallery and the Don Quixote room.
The palace has two inner courtyards with columns, including a small garden accessible during visits.
Guided tours are offered by reservation. (www.palazzobiscari.it, at 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. (groups of 10 max.), duration 1h; price €12/adult)
Palazzo della Cultura in Catania
The Palace of Culture (palazzo della Cultura), formerly Palazzo Platamone and the Monastery of San Placido, occupies an entire trapezoidal block (121 Via Vittorio Emanuele II).
On the short side stands the church of San Placido, one of the jewels of Baroque Catania, with the facade (1769) by Stefano Ittar marked by its concavity and an interior of great elegance, with Baroque frescoes and stuccoes; the church adjacent to the complex.
The Platamone family was one of the most illustrious families of 15th-century Catania and their palace one of the most luxurious architectural examples in the city. Shortly after its construction around 1409-1412, on the supposed ruins of a Roman temple of Bacchus, the family entrusted premises to found the monastery of San Placido, given to the Benedictines. It has a late Gothic style with Islamizing “chevron” motifs.
Since the reconstruction that followed the 1693 earthquake, the courtyard contains the remains of the 15th-century palace, with the surviving medieval loggia and its balcony, adorned with floral and human motifs in limestone. In the center of the balcony is the coat of arms of the Platamone (mountain with three shells and lilies). The complex also incorporates 18th-century elements by architects such as Vaccarini.
After the suppression of religious orders in 1866-1867, it was acquired by the municipality in 1909 for offices; since 2008, it has been the seat of the assessorship for Culture.
Visiting conditions: Open Monday-Friday 9 a.m.-1:30 p.m. (closed weekends and public holidays except events); free entry for the courtyards and the church. The palace hosts temporary exhibitions, concerts and cultural events.
Information
External sites
- Palazzo Biscari: official website, Wikipedia page
- Palace of Culture (Palazzo Platamone): www.comune.catania.it
- Opening hours of the Palazzo della Cultura (Palazzo Platamone): www.comune.catania.it
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