Description of the attraction
Palazzo Ciampoli is the latest of all medieval buildings in Taormina, since its construction dates back to the early 15th century. The date of the birth of this wonderful palace - 1412 - is immortalized on the heraldic shield installed above the main entrance to the Palazzo.
In 1926, the Palazzo Vecchio was built on the grounds of the Palazzo Ciampoli garden, architecturally repeating the famous Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, also known as the Palazzo della Signoria.
Just a couple of years ago, Palazzo Ciampoli was home to one of the most popular nightclubs in Taormina - "Sesto Acuto", which can be translated as "lancet vault". The name of the club was given to it because of the vaulted arches that adorn the building in accordance with the canons of the Gothic style in which it was built.
Since on the facade of Palazzo Ciampoli and another palace in Taormina - Palazzo Corvaja, you can see the same heraldic shields - one with a shield and a flag, and the other with a shield and three stars, it can be assumed that both buildings once belonged to the noble family of Corvaja, and later one of the palaces became the property of the Ciampoli family.
The only remarkable part of Palazzo Ciampoli is its main façade, which stands on wide and steep steps that serve as a natural foundation. Initially, there was a large open courtyard in front of the building, but, unfortunately, today only a portal with rounded arches made of local marble and two bas-reliefs depicting the heads of Roman emperors in the corners remain of it. The palace was seriously damaged during the bombing during the Second World War. The above portal was almost completely destroyed, but later restored using the same marble.
Features of Catalan architecture are easily recognizable in the Palazzo Ciampoli. In fact, it has many typical Spanish elements: for example, its short northern façade has a single window with an architrave beam that forms a scallop - an ornamental strip with downward-facing stepped teeth. And the top of the main facade is decorated with a small triangular merlon, which, however, is not as impressive as the forked merlons of other medieval buildings in Taormina.
