Palazzo Minoriti

Historic building visited on the occasion of a Christmas event in which local artists and craftsmen exhibited. Very beautiful

The courtyard is beautiful, a place full of history. Today on Christmas day it hosts a cultural event with free admission. Nice atmosphere!

I love this place for the magic that is in the air. I have experienced many beautiful days during the various craft events organized inside. I hope I can continue tomorrow, magic circle.

Seat of the Regional Province of Catania. Palazzo Minoriti is a former convent, seat of Minorite friars, and was built around the 1700s by the architect Francesco Battaglia. It is a reconstruction, as the original structure was destroyed during the earthquake of 1693. Of late Baroque style, the building has columns and arches that embellish the facade on Via Etnea. The entrance into the large courtyard, with cloister, was designed by the architects Giuseppe Lanzerotti and Francesco Fichera, and opens onto via Prefettura (so called because a wing of the building was sold to the prefect by the municipal administration until 1937). The central floor of the building houses the historical archive, the library and the Portrait Gallery of the Presidents of the Province from the Unification of Italy to the present day. From the Gallery you arrive at the Sala del Gonfalone, where it is possible to admire a coat of arms with a heraldic shield authorized in 1883 by the then King of Italy Umberto I of Savoy. Another important gallery, also housed inside the palace, is that of Etna, which has a very rich collection of antique prints reproducing the volcano which, with its majesty, dominates the city of Catania.

Palazzo Minoriti is one of the most beautiful historic buildings in Catania, located in the central Via Etnea. This building represents, together with Piazza Duomo and Piazza Università, the living room of Catania. It is located between the so-called "Quattro Canti" and Piazza Stesicoro. And it is a real jewel of the Baroque. The building belongs to the Regional Province of Catania. In particular, the east wing of the building overlooking Via Etnea is the seat of the Prefecture. Originally, this palace was the seat of a convent of the Minor Regular Clerics, also known as Caracciolini, derived from that of their founder Francesco Caracciolo. The Ordo Clericorum Regularium Minorium, founded by Sixtus V in 1588, soon spread to Sicily. The friars arrived in Catania in 1625, at the invitation of Bishop Innocenzo Massimo, who assigned them to the Casa degli Orfanelli. Later they were assigned the church dedicated to San Michele Minore, located alongside. They occupied the building from 1628. Following the earthquake of 1693, this building also suffered considerable damage. In 1700, the architect Francesco Battaglia, Vaccarini's heir and proponent of the rebirth of Catania, rebuilt the palace. The structure underwent additions over time that have distorted the original architecture. Subsequently, in the nineteenth century, on a project by the architect Sebastiano Ittar, there were other changes: a second floor. In 1866, the convent, requisitioned from the Minorites (the Minor Regular Clerics), became the property of the provincial administration. With the bombings of 1943, the building was transformed again, becoming an air-raid shelter. The palace was rebuilt between the 1950s and 1960s. Only in 1990, Palazzo Minoriti returned to its original form, with the four sides on the cloister. The pearl of this building is certainly the cloister. It has a perfectly regular shape and many prestigious environments. Precisely in this space, the monks resold their products. Today it is used as a location for setting up shows and exhibitions, right under the arcades. Here the products of local crafts, food and wine, art and even photographs are exhibited, under the banner of territorial promotion. In 2018 the structure was included in the FAI list of Places of the heart.

I visited the cloister of this estate, located in the central avenue of Catania, on the occasion of an exhibition of local art and crafts, held in the spring of 2022. It seems that works are underway to increasingly re-evaluate this historic town attraction, which is it seemed neglected for a long time. Such free events, like the one I have witnessed, are a good start.