Villa Palagonia, Bagheria, Italy

The Villa Palagonia is a patrician villa in Bagheria, 15 km from Palermo. The villa itself, built from 1715 by the architect Tommaso Napoli with the help of Agatino Daidone, is one of the earliest examples of Sicilian Baroque. However, its popularity comes mainly from the statues of monsters with human faces that decorate its garden and its wall, and earned it the nickname of 'The Villa of Monsters' (Villa dei Mostri).

This series of grotesques, created from 1749 by Francesco Ferdinando II Gravina, Prince of Palagonia, aroused the curiosity of the travellers of the Grand Tour during the 18th and 19th centuries, for instance Henry Swinburne, Patrick Brydone, John Soane, Goethe, the Count de Borde, the artist Jean-Pierre Houël or Alexandre Dumas, prior to fascinate surrealists like André Breton or contemporary authors such as Giovanni Macchia and Dominique Fernandez, or the painter Renato Guttuso.

In 1885, the villa was bought by private individuals, who are still in its possession, and is partially open to the public.

Villa Palagonia has been one of the venues for music concerts held within the framework of the Concert Season of Bagheria (Stagione Concertistica Città di Bagheria) initiative since 2017, with free entrance.

References:

Wikipedia

Palaces, manors and town halls in Italy

User Reviews

Tina Mercer (20 months ago)
Visited this museum in Bagheria. Very beautiful and interesting past.

Patrick Farrugia (2 years ago)
A very beautiful Palace with old paintings and lovely architecture, however it stands in very bad shape.

Angela Allyn (2 years ago)
Worth a visit if you're in Bagheria. I only wish more of the rooms of the villa were open for viewing. As it is the highlight are the wonderful and unique statues in the garden. It doesn't take long to see everything, I'd say half an hour. So 6€ seems expensive compared to other sites in Italy. However, I'm glad I went.

Alberto Del Lungo (2 years ago)
Simply, I don't know. Although, the site was officially opened untill 13.00, at 12.35, the very un-polite receptionist did not allow me to enter and he didn't even allow me to step into the front garden to take a picture. I discourage people to go and visit it, untill the administration will continue to hire such unprofessional people! This not the way to sell the Italian beauties and heritages to tourists!

Giulio Luzzardi (2 years ago)
Sunday is good as there is mass at 10:30 in the little chapel and the villa is more accessable. Beautiful and interesting.Great location for a movie.

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The Broch of Gurness is an Iron Age broch village. Settlement here began sometime between 500 and 200 BC. At the centre of the settlement is a stone tower or broch, which once probably reached a height of around 10 metres. Its interior is divided into sections by upright slabs. The tower features two skins of drystone walls, with stone-floored galleries in between. These are accessed by steps. Stone ledges suggest that there was once an upper storey with a timber floor. The roof would have been thatched, surrounded by a wall walk linked by stairs to the ground floor. The broch features two hearths and a subterranean stone cistern with steps leading down into it. It is thought to have some religious significance, relating to an Iron Age cult of the underground.

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