PALERMO | Palazzo Butera in the Kalsa neighbourhood

March 2025. We’re embarking on a train trip to Sicily. We fly from Brussels Airport to Leonardo da Vinci Rome Fiumicino Airport with ITA Airways. Then we take an Intercity Notte sleeper train by Trenitalia from Roma Termini Railway Station across Italy to Syracuse. Yes, the train is loaded on a ferry to cross the Strait of Messina. After visiting Syracuse, Catania and Palermo, we return to Rome, and home. With 25,832 km², Sicily is only 20% smaller than Belgium (30,689 km²). Quite a lot in four days.

After Palermo Cathedral and the Royal Palace of the Normans, we toured the city by sightseeing bus. But that’s for next week. First our visit to Palazzo Butera. Not far from our hotel in the Kalsa neighbourhood and open until 8 PM.

Kalsa

Kalsa, also known as Mandamento Tribunali, is a historic quarter in Palermo. It is sometimes referred to as la Kalsa or the Kalsa.

The quarter’s common name, Kalsa, originates from its historic Arabic name, al-Khāliṣa (الخالصة), meaning “the chosen one.” The formal name, Mandamento Tribunali, meaning ‘district of courts’, derives from the presence of Inquisition courts at the Palazzo Chiaramonte-Steri.

In ancient times, much of what is now the Kalsa was underwater. Hamilcar and Hannibal docked their ships there while preparing their attacks on the Greek city of Himera. The walls of a Punic city occupied by the Phoenicians and Carthaginians extended to the confluence of the Papyrus and Kemonia rivers, near the present-day intersection of Via Roma and Via Vittorio Emanuele.

Al-Khalesa, built in the ninth century, was one of the earliest planned Arab settlements in Europe. It served as the administrative centre of Balarm (Palermo) under Arab rule until the Normans conquered the city in 1072. Around 937, the Arabs relocated their base from Al-Kasr (now the Cassaro, or castle district) to Al-Khalesa, constructing a fortified palace near the port.

By the 970s, Palermo had developed into a major Muslim city, comparable to Cairo or Córdoba. Al-Khalesa housed the emir and his court, as well as the arsenal, prison, baths, a mosque, and government offices, though there were no shops or markets. The area was enclosed by a stone wall with four gates, the most notable being the Bab al-bahr, or Marine Gate, on the shore.

The centre of Al-Khalesa was near what is now Piazza Kalsa. Much of the square’s present Arabesque architecture, such as the Greek Gate, stems from 16th-century Spanish Moorish revival movements rather than the emirate of Balarm. However, the district has retained its narrow, winding streets, characteristic of the 11th century.

Following the Norman conquest, the rulers preferred to establish their headquarters on higher ground in the Cassaro. The Kalsa became an Arab neighbourhood with markets and mosques, but by the early 13th century, as in the rest of Sicily, Islam had disappeared from the island.

During World War II, the Kalsa district was heavily bombed and subsequently abandoned for decades. It became home to poor squatters, many of whom lived in the ruins left by the bombings. Sicilian-American novelist Dodici Azpadu described it as an “Arab ghetto.” In recent years, the area has been revitalised and now features art galleries, restored churches and palaces, and other tourist attractions.

Palazzo Butera

The Palazzo Butera is a Baroque-style aristocratic palace facing the Mediterranean Sea. Its long seafront façade features a wide terrace, known as the Passeggiata delle Cattive, built atop the remains of the former city walls. In front of the terrace lies the park Foro Italico, just south of Porta Felice and Via Vittorio Emanuele, also known as the Cassaro. The main entrance to the palace is from Via Butera on the landward side.

The privileged location, serving as a gateway from the port into the city, was previously occupied by a large residence belonging to the Imperatore family. In 1692, Girolamo Branciforte, marquess of Martini, acquired the site and commissioned a small palace or casino. In 1718, his son, Ercole Michele Branciforte e Gravina, married Caterina Branciforte e Ventimiglia, daughter of Nicolò Placido, Prince of Butera, Duke of Santa Lucia.

The family inherited the title of Prince of Butera, and Ercole Michele commissioned architect Giacomo Amato to refurbish and expand the palace. By 1735, the building had acquired its roofline balustrade. In 1760, the adjacent palace belonging to the Moncada family was incorporated, allowing for the creation of a large ballroom.

The entrance to the piano nobile is accessed via a marble staircase, prominently displaying the Branciforte coat of arms featuring a lion.

The interior fresco decorations were carried out by Gioacchino Martorana and Olivio Sozzi, while some designs were created by Ferdinando Fuga between 1728 and 1741. Stucco and other decorative elements were executed under the direction of Giuseppe Li Gotti.

A major fire in 1759 destroyed a significant portion of the palace, prompting a new refurbishment under Prince Ercole Branciforte, with architect Paolo Vivaldi overseeing aspects of the reconstruction. His son, Prince Salvatore Branciforti, continued the renovation, with frescoes by Olivio Sozzi, Emanuele and Elia Interguglielmi, Gioacchino and Pietro Martorana, and the quadraturista Gaspare Fumagalli. Francesco Alaimo contributed additional stuccowork.

In 1773, Ercole Michele Branciforti e Pignatelli, Prince of Pietraperzia, joined a local rebellion in Sicily and was imprisoned by Viceroy Caracciolo.

A proponent of Enlightenment ideas and scientific advancements, he observed the launch of a Montgolfier-style hot air balloon from the palace terrace in 1784. The palace also hosted notable visitors, including Goethe, Hackert, Dominique-Vivant Denon, Jean-Pierre Houel, and Friedrich Münter.

Following the death of Stefania Branciforte, the last Princess of Butera, the title passed to the Lanza family, Princes of Trabia and Dukes of Camastra. Prince Pietro Lanza Galletti and his wife, Giulia Florio d’Ondes, resided in the palace during World War II, during which two of their sons died.

After 1950, the building changed hands multiple times, housing local government institutions and a tourism institute. In 2016, gallery owner Massimo Valsecchi and his wife Francesca purchased the palace and undertook its restoration for use as a museum and cultural venue.

Palazzo Butera today

In 2018 the palace opened as a building site.

In 2020, the restoration is completed. The majority of the Francesca and Massimo Valsecchi collection, after a long-term loan at the Fitzwilliam Museum of Cambridge and at the Ashmolean Museum of Oxford, arrives in Palermo.

The collection is eclectic. I remember oddly-shaped penises and works by Gilbert & George. But it’s the terraces, the tower on the roof and the space just under the roof which are very interesting. It gives you an insight on isolation and architecture.