Pretorio Palace in Palermo
The Palazzo Pretorio di Palermo , also known as Palazzo delle Aquile or Palazzo di Città , was built in 1470 on a project by Giacomo Benfante and at the behest of praetor Pietro Speciale.
The palace contains different architectural styles due to the various transformations and extensions to which it has been subject.
The building has a rectangular shape, with a central courtyard. On the main facade stands the emblem of the imperial eagle, symbol of Palermo, and above the latter, the statue of the patron saint of Palermo: Santa Rosalia. Every year, on the occasion of the feast of Santa Rosalia, a religious function takes place in Palazzo Pretorio.
At the center of the façade there is a clock and on the two sides of the dial there are two griffins, mythological animals guardians of the treasure, placed at hour watch. At the four corners, there are four concrete eagles, stuccoed in imitation of marble by Domenico Costantino, from which the Palazzo takes its name.
In the courtyard inside the palace there are various frescoes and statues, including a married couple representing Palermo and Rome shaking hands and on the eastern wall of the atrium the statue of the great Palermo dialect poet Giovanni Meli. Today the courtyard has a wrought iron and glass roof. It is connected to the main floor, thanks to an imposing three-flight staircase, on the left of which is one of the statues depicting the Genius of Palermo.
On the main floor, there are the reception rooms: the Sala dei Bas-Relievi; the Hall of the Gonfaloni or of the Coats of Arms; the "Red Room" created by Almeyda, the "Yellow Room", so named for the gold-colored brocade of the upholstery; the "Hall of the Tombstones" with its numerous marble inscriptions placed on the walls; the Sala Garibaldi in whose walls there are marble slabs with excerpts from Garibaldi's speeches. We also find a chapel, in Baroque style, dedicated to the patron saint Santa Rosalia. Here, in a niche, above the eighteenth-century canvas of the Virgin, is the Santuzza by the sculptor Cosmo Sorgi.
The palace is rich in numerous works of art, paintings and sculptures by Sicilian artists of the late nineteenth century and of the early twentieth century.
