Luigi Sturzo Gallery in Caltagirone
The Luigi Sturzo Gallery in Caltagirone was the ancient seat of the Senato Calatino, today it is used for theatrical performances, as an exhibition gallery and as a tourist information office.
It was built in 1483 and, in the second half of the 16th century, the façade of the building was enriched by a Giandomenico Gagini portal and various ornamental sculptures. Following subsequent transformations and catastrophic natural events, only a few but significant fragments of these works remain, preserved in the Civic Museum at the Bourbon Prison. In 1584 the Palermo silversmiths Agostino and Giuseppe Sarzana supplied the bronze door of the Ark of the "Privileges" of the City, which is now also exhibited in the Civic Museum at the Bourbon Prison.
The earthquake of 1693 significantly damaged the building which slowly went into it was ruined until in 1823 it was transformed into a theater by the Caltagirone architect Salvatore Marino, to whom we owe the new appearance of the facade.
