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- Palazzo Belmonte Riso
Telefono: 091587717
e-mail: poloartemoderna.pa@regione.sicilia.it – https://www.poloartecontemporanea.it/
- Orario biglietteria / Ticketing hours
martedì, mercoledì, domenica / Tuesday, Wednesday, Sunday 10:00 19:30
giovedì, venerdì, sabato / Thursday, Friday, Saturday 10:00 23:30
lunedì chiuso, eccetto i festivi / closed Mondays, except holidays
Ingresso / Admission & ticketing
Intero / Full 6,00
ENGLISH
The Belmonte Riso Palace is located on the area which had been occupied by the house of the noble Afflitto Family since the XVI century. Giuseppe Emanuele Ventimiglia and Cottone, Prince of Belmonte bought it in the 18th century and had it rebuilt in 1780 by relying on the work of Giuseppe Venanzio Marvuglia and the collaboration of Ferdinando Fuga. Subsequently the Palace passed into the hands of the Pandolfina Family and then in 1841 to Giovanni Riso di Colobria who replaced the Ventimiglia crest of the façade, on the front door, with that of his family.
In 1935 it became the “Casa del Fascio” a place which hosted Fascists – but the bombs of 1943, the neglect and the robberies of the following years destroyed it completely reducing it to a ruin. The painters in vogue at the time were called for interior decoration; Antonio Manno who painted “Fame” in the main hall and some mythological scenes in the other rooms and other decorations were made by Giuseppe Velasquez. After the war, painted ceilings were not saved, and part of the structure remained, the façade and part of the courtyards were submerged by the rubble.
A first static renovation was carried out to restore the beautiful view of the Cassaro to the city.
The Sicilian Region, which already owned the Palace, began its restoration work in the mid-1990s and, after the renovation, it was turned into the Regional Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art by the Autonomous Government – Palazzo Belmonte Riso.