Description
Palazzo Fassari Pace is a late Baroque palace in the upper part of Via Vittorio Emanuele II in Catania, next to the monastery of the Santissima Trinità. Built in the early 18th century, in a city rising again after the earthquake of 1693, it is recognizable from afar by a very long balcony running along the second floor.
Why would a palace have a balcony like that? For Saint Agatha. Until 1926, on February 4, the saint's fercolo climbed this very stretch of Via Vittorio Emanuele, in the so-called outer round, up to the Church of Sant'Agata alle Sciare. The balcony, built between the late 18th and early 19th century, let more spectators in.
The facade has other details not to miss. The piano nobile has eight classical-style balconies, topped by a rectangle that was perhaps meant to be decorated; only one, in the center, has floral Liberty-style stuccoes. The three central balconies, in an original arrangement, are joined by a single railing.
Lower down, above the doorways, are the oval windows known as "bull's-eye." The doorways were lowered when, in 1870-71, the level of Catania's streets was lowered, an operation that was contested even then. Inside, the rooms of the piano nobile were linked in a long suite of halls.
Who designed it is not certain: everything points to Francesco Battaglia, the architect of the Benedictines and of the Prince of Biscari's household, judging by the style, techniques and materials. Perhaps the hand of his son Antonino or his grandson Carmelo Battaglia Santangelo is there too. The proof, however, went up in smoke.
In December 1944 a fire devastated the City Hall and the municipal archive, with the documents that would have settled the doubt. The first owners also remain in the shadows: nobles, jurists or churchmen, it is supposed.
The palace, in its first two tiers, was already on the city maps of the mid-18th century, but without the second floor, completed later: the final form dates to the early 19th century. The additions above the second floor are from the early 20th century, made for commercial purposes.
The name comes from the last owners before it was divided into apartments, in the 1930s: the couple Pace and Fassari. Donna Irene Fassari led the Unione Femminile Catanese and was a friend of the poet Mario Rapisardi. After losing a son, she devoted herself to the education of girls.
Don't miss
• The long balcony on the second floor.
• The eight balconies of the piano nobile.
• The "bull's-eye" windows.
Did you know?
• Until 1875 the Benedictine nuns of the Trinità and the Augustinians farther east could watch the procession of Saint Agatha.
• The palace had a garden, now gone.
Why would a palace have a balcony like that? For Saint Agatha. Until 1926, on February 4, the saint's fercolo climbed this very stretch of Via Vittorio Emanuele, in the so-called outer round, up to the Church of Sant'Agata alle Sciare. The balcony, built between the late 18th and early 19th century, let more spectators in.
The facade has other details not to miss. The piano nobile has eight classical-style balconies, topped by a rectangle that was perhaps meant to be decorated; only one, in the center, has floral Liberty-style stuccoes. The three central balconies, in an original arrangement, are joined by a single railing.
Lower down, above the doorways, are the oval windows known as "bull's-eye." The doorways were lowered when, in 1870-71, the level of Catania's streets was lowered, an operation that was contested even then. Inside, the rooms of the piano nobile were linked in a long suite of halls.
Who designed it is not certain: everything points to Francesco Battaglia, the architect of the Benedictines and of the Prince of Biscari's household, judging by the style, techniques and materials. Perhaps the hand of his son Antonino or his grandson Carmelo Battaglia Santangelo is there too. The proof, however, went up in smoke.
In December 1944 a fire devastated the City Hall and the municipal archive, with the documents that would have settled the doubt. The first owners also remain in the shadows: nobles, jurists or churchmen, it is supposed.
The palace, in its first two tiers, was already on the city maps of the mid-18th century, but without the second floor, completed later: the final form dates to the early 19th century. The additions above the second floor are from the early 20th century, made for commercial purposes.
The name comes from the last owners before it was divided into apartments, in the 1930s: the couple Pace and Fassari. Donna Irene Fassari led the Unione Femminile Catanese and was a friend of the poet Mario Rapisardi. After losing a son, she devoted herself to the education of girls.
Don't miss
• The long balcony on the second floor.
• The eight balconies of the piano nobile.
• The "bull's-eye" windows.
Did you know?
• Until 1875 the Benedictine nuns of the Trinità and the Augustinians farther east could watch the procession of Saint Agatha.
• The palace had a garden, now gone.