Palazzo Abatellis

Palazzo Abatellis (also known as Palazzo Patella) is a palazzo in Palermo, Sicily, southern Italy, located in the Kalsa quarter. It is home to the Galleria Regionale della Sicilia, the Gallery of Art for the Sicilian region.

The palazzo, an example of Gothic-Catalan architecture, was designed in the 15th century by Matteo Carnelivari, at the time working in Palermo at the palazzo Aiutamicristo. It was the residence of Francesco Abatellis (or Patella), port master of the Kingdom of Sicily.

After the death of Abatellis, it remained to his wife, and, after her death, it was given to a female monastery. Several modifications were carried on to adapt it to monastic life. They included a chapel, built on the left side of the chapel (1535–1541), hiding one of the façades. In the 18th century, following the construction of a bigger church (the current Santa Maria della Pietà), the chapel was abolished and divided into several rooms. The front part was used as parlatory, while the rear section, with the altar removed, was turned into a series of storage rooms.

During the night between 16 and 17 April 1943 the palace was struck during an Allied air bombing: the loggia, the portico, the south-western sector and the wall of the western tower crumbled down. The palace was then restored, and it was decided to use it for the Galleria d’Arte per le collezioni d’arte medievale ("Gallery of medieval collection"). Works were directed by the architects Mario Guiotto and, later, Armando Dillon. They were completed in 1953, and Carlo Scarpa was commissioned the setup of the art gallery, which was opened on 23 June 1954.

The regional gallery is home to many works acquired when several religious orders were suppressed in 1866. They were previously housed in the Pinacoteca della Regia Università and, from 1866, in the Museo Nazionale of Palermo, which became a regional museum when Sicily acquired autonomous status.

The ground floor contains 12th-century wooden works, 14th- and 15th-century works including some by Antonello Gagini, painted maiolica from the 14th–17th centuries, the 15th-century Bust of a Gentlewoman by Francesco Laurana and painted panels of wooden ceilings. The large fresco of the Triumph of Death (most likely dating to 1445), is exhibited in the former chapel.

Text adapted from “Palazzo Abatellis” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Palazzo Abatellis ranks #1,629 of 7,738 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #125 of the 452 mapped in Italy. Founded 1495, it is older than 46% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 434 atlas entries founded in the 15th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 4,031 times in the last 60 days, more than 81% of the atlas. Wikidata records about 46,000 visitors in 2022. 7 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. It is one of the 22 landmarks on the atlas's regional map of Sicily. See how Italy compares in the castle statistics.

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