Steripinto Palace in Sciacca
Palazzo Steripinto in Sciacca is one of the oldest palaces in the city and is one of the most interesting examples of Plateresque art in Sicily .
It was built in 1501 by Antonio Noceto, and presents structural and morphological elements of late Gothic Catalan and Renaissance of Italian origin.
The name Steripinto derives from the fusion of the noun "hosterium", a name common to other medieval palaces in Sicily, which means fortified palace, and of the past participle " pictum ", which means" painted "," decorated ".
The facade is characterized by a dense series of diamond-pointed stone bosses. A graceful note are the two marble columns inserted in the two cantonals on the sides of the façade, perhaps brought back by more ancient demolished buildings. The lower floor is entirely closed, only one opening persists, the main floor instead has windows with elegant Gothic mullioned windows. The set of decorations take on different shades of colors in the light of the sun, during the day and the seasons, making this palace suggestive, austere and fortified. The coat of arms in the center of the lunette, above the portal, belongs to the Lucchesi Palli family, to whom the building became property by way of marriage. The coat of arms on the capitals of the mullioned windows, which depicts a walnut tree, is from the Noceto family.
The interior, heavily remodeled over the centuries, retains a beautiful ribbed cross vault, supported by robust pointed arches .
