Description of the attraction
The Palazzo Bellomo Museum is located on the island of Ortigia, the historic center of Syracuse. It was opened in 1948, but only in the 1970s was it finally completed. Today, among the exhibits of the museum, it is especially worth noting two sarcophagi of the rulers of the so-called Chamber Reginale - a type of fiefdom that was inherited by the queens of Sicily. The sarcophagi are owned by Giovanni Cabastida and Giovanni Cardenas. And the rich Pinakothek contains the painting "Annunciation" by Antonio da Messina, painted in 1474, and a collection of silver items.
Palazzo Bellomo itself is a splendid palace built in the 13-14 centuries. In the structure of the building, two stages of its construction are clearly traced: the first belongs to the era of the Zveva family and is represented by a massive first floor with a Gothic portal. The upper floor was added in the 14th century, and it is strikingly different from the lower one. In 1365, the palazzo became the property of the Bellomo family, a noble Roman family who moved to Sicily after King Federigo III of Aragon. It was then that the upper floor of the palace appeared, in the architecture of which you can see the noticeable influence of Catalan art.
In 1722, monks from the adjoining convent of San Benedetto bought the Palazzo and adapted it for use as a storage room and a dormitory. Then, with the expropriation law of 1866, the building was restored to its original functions. And in 1901, the Palazzo became the property of the Fine Arts Administration, which initiated the first restoration work.
In 1948, it was decided to convert the magnificent palace into a museum, since the National Archaeological Museum decided to separate the collections of the Middle Ages and modern times from the collections of prehistoric times and antiquity, and a new building was required. After lengthy restoration work, in October 2009, the Palazzo Bellomo Museum opened its doors to the public with updated exhibitions.
