Benedictine Monastery in Palma di Montechiaro
The Benedictine Monastery of Palma di Montechiaro is a place of faith and a symbol of a historical memory of the city.
It was built between 1653 and 1659 and incorporated the first Doge's Palace. With the Cassinese rule it also welcomed the daughters of Giulio, II Duke of Palma, and later also his wife Rosalia Traina.
The complex is located on a semicircular and impervious flight of steps, in a square square with the streets that cross in the place that was once marked by the column with the cross. The monastery has a simple appearance with unadorned windows. On the internal courtyard, on the other hand, there are windows decorated in Baroque style.
Inside, the parlor has a barrel vault which leads to a garden full of trees in which there is a sculpture of the Madonna with Saint Benedict.
Of particular value is the statue of the Madonna della Colomba Rosata kept in the monastery.
The monastery is one of the few cloistered monasteries in Sicily whose access is prevented by almost anyone. Within the walls of this monastery lives a very small community of nuns, whose days are marked by prayer and work. The nuns still follow the tradition of conventual sweets today.
The monastery is known throughout the world following the publication of the masterpiece by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, Il Gattopardo, and for the fact that in this place the "Devil's Letter" was transcribed by one of the nuns.
