Villa Palagonia in Bagheria

A stone's throw from the center of Palermo stands the beautiful village of Bagheria, known for hosting a significant amount of eighteenth-century villas, some elegant and sumptuous, others as fascinating as they are mysterious. Among the latter one cannot fail to mention Villa Palagonia, which has fascinated many illustrious characters of the past, from Goethe to Salvador Dalì up to the painter Renato Guttuso.

The history of Villa Palagonia in Bagheria

The IV Prince of Palagonia wanted the construction of Villa Palagonia, Ferdinand Gravina Cruyllas: the one who had been awarded a knight of the Golden Fleece by the Spanish sovereigns, entrusted the project to the military architect Tommaso Maria Napoli in 1715. His son Ignazio Sebastiano Gravina continued the work, even if it was Francesco Ferdinando Gravina and Alliata (the VI Prince of Palagonia) to make this residence like the "Villa of Monsters" that everyone knows by now. He commissioned horrid sculptures to decorate Villa Palagonia and the reasons are still obscure today: the "Necromancer", considered by many to be crazy and unconventional, it seems that he was made fun of for his ugliness and decided to commission sculptures more ugly of him, positioning them all with their eyes turned to the houses of his detractors.Some say that in reality the monstrous sculptures were wanted to keep flatterers away from his charming wife.
Some say that Villa Palagonia is haunted by the specter of Francesco Ferdinando Gravina and Alliata, but also that stone monsters cause miscarriages in women.

The art kept in Villa Palagonia in Bagheria

L'triumphal arch which welcomes visitors is decorated with animalistic and deformed sculptures, anticipating the atmosphere one breathes as one enters the gate. The same facade it is a riot of tuffaceous stone, shaped into the shapes of swine-like knights, double-headed snakes, goat-shaped musicians, dwarfs, gnomes and other bizarre fantastic sculptures.

Inside a scenographic great staircase surmounted by the Gravina emblem, it allows access to the main floor: all the rooms they show a rare elegance, but are often furnished with bizarre furniture, such as chairs with legs of different heights and others so inclined forward as to make sitting impossible. It is even said that in the past there were statues in the rooms that moved their eyes.

An elliptical vestibule frescoed with mythological scenes related to Hercules introduces the marvelous Hall of Mirrors, whose floor is covered with polychrome marble, while the walls are frescoed to imitate a balustrade and the celestial vault. The name of the room derives from the presence of the mirrors on the wide ceiling: today they are oxidized but once upon a time they deformed the figure of those who were mirrored in them, demonstrating the fleetingness of beauty.
Also worth a visit there Hall of the Chapel, Billiard room, the beautiful Winter Garden , Church adjacent to the villa, inside which there is the sinister sculpture of a splendid woman consumed by death and a crucifix with the figure of Francesco Ferdinando Gravina and Alliata who asks him for forgiveness for the ills of the world.

What to do around Villa Palagonia in Bagheria

Bagheria is called "the city of villas" and in fact in this village a stone's throw from the Tyrrhenian coast, in addition to Villa Palagonia, there are many noble residences to visit, all dating back to the 700th century.
There are Villa Valguarnera with an esoteric charm, surrounded by a luxuriant garden, Catholic Villa which is also home to the museum dedicated to Renato Guttuso (but also to a museum dedicated to the Sicilian cart) and finally Palazzo Butera from the mid-600th century: inside this neoclassical residence there is a monumental spiral staircase and frescoes by Velázquez.
Also see the Beach of the French, a small mainly rocky bay nestled between the turquoise sea and such a thick and verdant vegetation.

How to get to Bagheria

To reach Villa Palagonia you have to get to Bagheria by taking the A20 that connects Messina to Palermo (or the SS113), exiting at the sign indicating the "city of villas".

© Image by Jpbazard Jean-Pierre Bazard, CC BY-SA 3.0 - David Mauro, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons