Description of the attraction
Palazzo Isnello, also known as Palazzo Termine d'Iznello and Palazzo Sant Antonio al Cassaro, is an ancient Sicilian Baroque palace located between the ancient street of Cassaro and Piazza Borsa in the Kalsa quarter of Palermo. On the vaults of the dance hall, located on the front floor of the palace, you can see the fresco "The Glorification of Palermo" - one of seven monumental images of the Spirit of Palermo, the ancient city deity.
The palazzo, built during the 18th century and finally completed in 1760, was designed by an unknown architect for the Counts of Isnello and the rulers of the Baucina, a commune subordinate to Palermo. The palace, the main façade of which overlooks Via Cassaro, was built with the union of six medieval buildings that existed on this site. In the 19th century - until 1843 - the historian Michele Amari lived here, until he fell out of favor with the rulers of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies for his separatist and revolutionary ideas, which he expressed in an article on Sicilian Vespers. For this he was exiled to France. During the Second World War, the Palazzo was seriously damaged by an American bomb that fell into it, but was restored in subsequent years. Since the 1980s, the dance hall and several other rooms of the palace have been rented for various events, but the rest of the premises are privately owned. In 2006, a memorial plaque was placed on the eastern façade of the Palazzo in honor of the 200th anniversary of the birth of Michele Amari.
