PALERMO – The Royal Palace

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PALERMO – Free entry to a late night opening at the Palazzo dei Normanni (the Royal Palace). Friday 29th July, from 19 to 1 a.m., the seat of the Sicilian Regional Assembly can be visited by locals and tourists alike. During the “Royal Night”, the itinerary unites history, painting and nature.

On the parliamentary floor, in the recently restored and reopened royal apartments, guests can admire paintings and frescoes by visiting the exhibition on “Sicily 1943-1947: on the pathway of independence”. The Pompeii, Chinese, Savoia and reading rooms were once the chambers of presidents and viceroys. The exhibition celebrates the 70th anniversary of the Sicilian Statute. The exhibits include documents, images and videos of the times, telling the story from when the Allies landed to the first sitting of the Sicilian Regional Parliament, on 25th May, 1947, together with the motivations leading to the island’s special Statute. As well as visiting the Herculean Room where the Regional Assembly sit, you can walk through the rooms recently named in honour of the president of the Region, Piersanto Mattarella,  killed by the Mafia on 6th January, 1980 and Pio La Torre who was the secretary of PCI and assassinated on 30th April, 1982.

Continue down to the ground floor, in the Duca di Montalto Room you can admire the anthological “Tormenti e incanti” exhibition dedicated to the artist Antonio Ligabue, with its sixty oil paintings, five bronze sculptures and a section dedicated to graphics and etchings. Amongst the works on show are four previously unknown pictures of animals: The Fox Escaping with a Hen in its Mouth (1943-44), Horses, The Leopard with Antelope and Birds of Prey. The Royal Palace gardens can also be visited which have only recently reopened thanks to the intervention of the University of Palermo who have aided the recuperation of some of the very rare plant specimins.

The Sicilian Symphonic Orchestra, with its brass quartet, flute quintet, Omniart trio and string quartet will provide a delightful background for visitors. You do not need to book your visit, simply pick up your ticket from the ticket office in piazza Indipendenza (last admission 12p.m.). On this occasion visitors can take and share photographs on social networks like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, using the hashtag #nottereale and #openars.