Villa Filangeri of Santa Flavia

Villa Filangeri was born in the seventeenth century as summer residence of the Filangeri family a Santa Flavia, Palermo.
Today the Villa is seat of the municipality, but how exactly does the story of this building begin? In the first half of the seventeenth century, the house of a priest stood here, but a few decades later the complex formed by a house and a church was bought by Pietro Filangeri, prince of Santa Flavia, which transforms the small Church of Sant'Anna into the current Soluntina Basilica and kicks off the works for the construction of the family summer residence.

Currently Villa Filangeri looks like a Baroque building, in fact, many modifications were made during the eighteenth century, which enlarged and changed the building. Subsequently, the ownership of the Villa passed to the Counts Lanza di Mazzarino, who in the second half of the XNUMXth century gave it to the Municipality.

The architecture of Villa Filangeri and what to admire inside

Villa Filangeri is a big one Baroque building with decorations Rococo; at the rear of the building is the large park or Winter Garden, work of the architect Ernesto Basile. The park is surrounded by tuff arches and inside there is a small hill, on which a Coffee house.

The facade of the Villa is characterized by a large double ramp staircase, with decorations and marble statues, which represent the Four Seasons; on the left side there is instead the small Chapel of the Villa, with a Neo-Gothic style facade.

The interiors, decorated with ancient paintings and sculptures, host several rooms, which today house the municipal offices: here you can still admire the Billiard room with decorations in Art Nouveau style.

What to do in and around Villa Filangeri

Anyone who is in Santa Flavia cannot give up visiting Villa Filangeri: we suggest you admire the Billiard Room, then discover all the Rococo decorations of the Villa and stroll through the park. This is one of attractions of Santa Flavia, but in the center you will also find other interesting things to discover.

Santa Flavia is located less than 20 km from Palermo and is a fairly large town, populated by about 10.000 inhabitants: here you will find the Church of Maria Santissima del Lume, built in the early XNUMXth century and the Church of Maria Santissima Addolorata, where there is an ancient chapel that dates back to the fourteenth century. In the village you can visit several villas, such as Villa Cefala, which today is a farmhouse and the Villa Basile, the first work of the famous Palermo architect.

With a stay in the village, you will be able to truly discover all the beauties of Santa Flavia, including the Solanto Castle, overlooking the sea and the other buildings in the centre. There fraction of Sant'Elia constitutes the wonderful view of the village on the Tyrrhenian Sea, while just 2 km away from the centre, you can visit theSolunto Archaeological Area with the excavations and the Museum.

In Santa Flavia, you will also discover all the taste of Sicilian cooking, tasting i typical dishes local: very fresh fish like the sweet and sour dolphin fish, pasta with sardines, ricotta and sweets with almonds are some of the typical culinary specialties of the Gulf of Palermo; if you also want to reach the capital of Sicily, to admire all its beauties and taste other amazing dishes of the island's cuisine, with a journey of only 18 km you will arrive in Palermo.

Even the smallest towns on the northern coast of Sicily, however, are treasures to be discovered: just 5 km to reach casteldaccia, with its beautiful beach, 8 km for Altavilla Milicia, where you will find the Watchtower and only 17 km to get to the Lanza Branciforti di Trabia Castle, where you can also visit the small coastal town.

How is it possible to get to Villa Filangeri

Villa Filangeri can be reached via Via Consolare, in Santa Flavia, in the Metropolitan City of Palermo. Getting to town is easy: those who travel in the car, from the A19 Palermo-Catania, just 3 km from the center, will have to take the exit for Bagheria, while those traveling on the train, you can get off at Bagheria Station and continue by bus or shuttle to the centre.