Francavilla Palace
The Palace has its entrance on Via Ruggiero Settimo and overlooks Piazza Verdi in front of the Teatro Massimo. Built in 1783 in the Palermo countryside, it has two specific features: it benefited from the urban expansion of the city which was carried out in 1778, and it was purchased in 1801 by Saverio Oneto e Gravina, Duke of Sperlinga, an aristocratic nobleman of the time, who was very close to the Bourbon king of Naples, and who for health reasons had been forced to leave his city palace and move to the countryside beyond Porta Maqueda.
In 1893, Luigi Majorca and Mortillaro Conte di Francavilla, heir of the Dukes of Sperlinga, needing to rework the façade of the building and to give the final layout of the interior, called on Ernesto Basile, already known for having collaborated with his father G. Battista Filippo in the construction of the Teatro Massimo.
The great architect, and the other talented artists who collaborated with him, did not miss their opportunity to show the cultured and rich client the value of their professionalism. . In addition to the façade and the two large atriums, Basile also designed the furniture of the entrance hall and the display cabinet where the clothes of the family noblewomen and noblemen are displayed. He also furnished the gallery painted by Giuseppe Enea, an example of one of the finest floral styles within Palermo’s Art Nouveau.
The vaults of the cornering living rooms were frescoed by Rocco Lentini, Luigi Di Giovanni, and Giuseppe Enea, who were considered the most prominent artists of the period. But the true atmosphere of the last Sicilian “Leopards” lives on when entering the Majorchiana library, designed by Basile.
Wikipedia#
Website:https://www.palazzofrancavilla.com/
