Palazzo Aiutamicristo
The Palazzo Aiutamicristo (German: Help me, Christ ) is a 15th century palace in Palermo . It is located in the Kalsa district of the old town of Palermo in the immediate vicinity of the La Magione church . The entrance is on Via Garibaldi .
history
The building was built in 1490 by order of the merchant and baron of the lands of Calatafimi and Misilmeri Guglielmo Aiutamicristo from Pisa . The contract went to the architect Matteo Carnilivari , who also built the Palazzo Abatellis and the Church of Santa Maria della Catena in the same district. The building was expanded as early as 1494 and the architecture was redesigned again at the end of the 16th century. The Aiutamicristo family lived here from 1490 to 1501.
Over the centuries many well-known personalities have resided here, including Johanna von Neapel (wife of Don Ferrantes of Naples) at the beginning of the 16th century, Emperor Charles V (1535), Muley Hassan , King of Tunisia (1544) and Juan de Austria ( 1576). Here was the seat of the Academy of Cavalry of Viceroy Garcia di Toledo . From 1588 Margherita Aiutamicristo rented the palazzo to Prince Moncada di Paternò , who finally bought it. Today the palazzo is owned by the Barons Calefati and Canaloti.
The building
The main entrance on Via Garibaldi leads to an inner courtyard with a two-storey loggia . While the arches on the first level are solid and wide, the second level shows style elements from the Catalan Gothic . On the third level there is a crenellated wreath with window-like openings. In the inner courtyard there is a magnificent garden with the Cavallo Marino fountain by the sculptor Ignazio Marabitti . The sculpture was installed in the Piazza Santo Spirito in Palermo in 1864.
The main facade is adorned by balconies in the baroque style. On the left side of the building is the old entrance portal with a family coat of arms. Another large garden was laid out at the back of the palazzo, which has now been destroyed.
In the second half of the 18th century, the owner of the palace, Don Aloisio Moncada, Prince of Paternò commissioned the architects Nicolò Anito and Andrea Gigante to remodel the interior, the first section of which was implemented between 1764 and 1768. Giuseppe Venanzio Marvuglia continued the work from 1773. Around 1780 the Neapolitan quadrature painter Benedetto Cotardi and the painter Giuseppe Crestadoro were commissioned to decorate these rooms with frescoes . In the ballroom built by Andrea Gigante, the ceiling fresco "The Glory of the Virtuous Princes" by Crestadoro stands out.
literature
- Giuseppe Bellafiore (greeting): Palermo. Guida della città e dei dintorni . Edizione Greco, Palermo 2002 (EA Palermo 1956)
- Angheli Zalapì (text), Melo Minnella (photos): Dimore di Sicilia . Arsenale Edizione, Venice 1998, ISBN 88-7743-189-X .
- German: palaces in Sicily . Könemann, Cologne 2000, ISBN 3-8290-2117-8 .
Web links
Coordinates: 38 ° 6 '47.4 " N , 13 ° 22' 3.7" E