Palazzo Francica Nava in Syracuse
The Palazzo Francica Nava , located in Ortigia , is an imposing fifteenth-century building in Gothic-Catalan style. The building has Baroque embellishments introduced in the 1700s.
In ancient times it belonged to the powerful Gravina - Cruyllas family of Francofonte, and was later inhabited by other noble families of the city, until the 1693 earthquake damaged it irreparably, albeit saving part of the original structure. The Francica Nava family purchased the palace only in the second half of the nineteenth century.
Today the Francica Nava Palace has a mixed facade: the lower part in Gothic style, while the upper part is in Baroque style. The entrance portal has a pointed ogival shape, a typical example of the Gothic-Catalan style of Arab influence. Next to it there are rectangular windows and arched portals from the eighteenth-nineteenth century used for private homes or businesses.