Branciforti Stable in Leonforte
The Branciforti Stable in Leonforte is an important testimony to the great passion for horses cultivated by the Prince who managed to create, by crossing different breeds, a hybrid he was proud of. The majesty of this stable, which could hold up to two hundred horses, was such that when King Vittorio Amedeo II of Savoy visited Leonforte in May 1714, he considered the "Great Stable" worthy of being compared to his stables in Turin.
Built in Baroque style, the Branciforti stable is the only example in Sicily of a building intended for the breeding of such large horses.
The facade, which acts as a perspective backdrop to Piazza Branciforti, presents a large ashlar portal similar to that of the palace. This is surmounted by a niche that ends in a shell which houses the only surviving effigy of the founding Prince in a marble bust, depicted with the armor of the knightly order of San Giacomo della Spada. three naves with a theory of fourteen arches on each side supported by pillars; it was divided into wards and above the mangers were mirrors of fine crystal reflecting the images of horses.
