Description
Palazzo Isnello is an eighteenth-century noble palace on the Cassaro, the main street of old Palermo, between Piazza Borsa and the northern edge of the Kalsa. It is also called Palazzo Termine d'Isnello or Sant'Antimo al Cassaro. The facade looks sober, but behind it is a frescoed piano nobile, with one of the masterpieces of Sicilian painting of its century.
The 1750 facade is post-Baroque, designed by an unknown architect and already with elements that anticipate neoclassicism. It has three orders and a continuous balcony on the piano nobile, with seven openings under triangular and curved pediments.
At the center, between two columns of African marble, opened the main portal, with a lintel decorated with triglyphs, acanthus leaves and lion masks, and the coats of arms of the Licata and the Ruffo di Calabria. In the twentieth century it was closed up to make room for a shop.
In the ballroom is the Apotheosis of Palermo by Vito D'Anna, a triumphal allegory with the Genius of Palermo, the city's ancient protector, at the center. It is one of the eight great depictions of the Genius, and the only painted one.
The vault of the Hall of the Four Seasons is by Francesco Sozzi, with allegorical scenes in frames shaped like a butterfly wing, a solution used here for the first time.
In a nearby salon is a fresco of Saint Rosalia, patron saint of Palermo, retouched in the late nineteenth century in the manner of pointillism. In another, a female figure holds the coat of arms of the Termine family.
The other little salons have ceilings with rocaille stuccoes and polychrome porcelains with flower and animal motifs. The frescoes date from 1760.
The palace took its present form in 1750, when Vincenzo Termine, Count of Isnello, had the sixteenth-century core by Paolo Ferreri enlarged, absorbing six medieval buildings. Ten years later he called in painters to decorate the piano nobile.
In the nineteenth century the historian and Arabist Michele Amari lived here. In 1843, after publishing "La guerra del Vespro siciliano", which displeased the Bourbons, he had to flee to France. A plaque on the facade on Via Isnello remembers him.
Then came the cuts. In 1929 the new owners, the Napolitano family, dismantled the monumental staircase and moved the main entrance to Via Isnello. In 1943 bombs damaged the palace, which was repaired after the war.
Don't miss
• The Apotheosis of Palermo.
• Sozzi's Four Seasons.
• The facade on the Cassaro.
Did you know?
• After the 2002 earthquake the palace underwent consolidation work.
• Léon Dufourny, in his diary of the late eighteenth century, described it as in poor condition.
The 1750 facade is post-Baroque, designed by an unknown architect and already with elements that anticipate neoclassicism. It has three orders and a continuous balcony on the piano nobile, with seven openings under triangular and curved pediments.
At the center, between two columns of African marble, opened the main portal, with a lintel decorated with triglyphs, acanthus leaves and lion masks, and the coats of arms of the Licata and the Ruffo di Calabria. In the twentieth century it was closed up to make room for a shop.
In the ballroom is the Apotheosis of Palermo by Vito D'Anna, a triumphal allegory with the Genius of Palermo, the city's ancient protector, at the center. It is one of the eight great depictions of the Genius, and the only painted one.
The vault of the Hall of the Four Seasons is by Francesco Sozzi, with allegorical scenes in frames shaped like a butterfly wing, a solution used here for the first time.
In a nearby salon is a fresco of Saint Rosalia, patron saint of Palermo, retouched in the late nineteenth century in the manner of pointillism. In another, a female figure holds the coat of arms of the Termine family.
The other little salons have ceilings with rocaille stuccoes and polychrome porcelains with flower and animal motifs. The frescoes date from 1760.
The palace took its present form in 1750, when Vincenzo Termine, Count of Isnello, had the sixteenth-century core by Paolo Ferreri enlarged, absorbing six medieval buildings. Ten years later he called in painters to decorate the piano nobile.
In the nineteenth century the historian and Arabist Michele Amari lived here. In 1843, after publishing "La guerra del Vespro siciliano", which displeased the Bourbons, he had to flee to France. A plaque on the facade on Via Isnello remembers him.
Then came the cuts. In 1929 the new owners, the Napolitano family, dismantled the monumental staircase and moved the main entrance to Via Isnello. In 1943 bombs damaged the palace, which was repaired after the war.
Don't miss
• The Apotheosis of Palermo.
• Sozzi's Four Seasons.
• The facade on the Cassaro.
Did you know?
• After the 2002 earthquake the palace underwent consolidation work.
• Léon Dufourny, in his diary of the late eighteenth century, described it as in poor condition.