Caltagirone: Musei Civici, Pinacoteca Sturzo e Mostra della Ceramica

Palazzo Libertini di S. Marco Via Volta Libertini 4/5 95041 Caltagirone tel. 0933/41314-41315-41316.

Opening Hours: From Tuesday to Saturday 9.30 A.M. - 1.30 P.M.; Sunday 9.30 A.M. - 12.30 A.M.; Tuesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday open also in the afternoon 4.00 P.M. - 7.00 P.M. Closed on Christmas Day, New Year's Day, Easter. Entrance: Free Services: Guided tours, research assistance, archives, library. Transport from Catania: AST and Etna Trasporti bus services.

The expositive part of the Musei Civici is located in the halls of the Bourbon prison, built at the end of the eighteenth century by the architect from Siracusa Natale Bonaiuto. It is a building of extreme architectonical and historical interest, a rare example of the eighteen-century prison typology and a lively evidence of important historical events, such as the "tumultuazione contro i creduti Giacobini" (riot against the supposed Jacobins) in 1799. Among the exhibited works, there are four eighteenth-century majolica busts, symbolizing the four sesasons; terracottas with figurative scenes by a skilful ceramist of the nineteenth century, Bongiovanni Vaccaro, and other commemorative epigraphs. In hall 1 there are modern ceramic works, the core of the Permanent Exhibition of Ceramics. In hall 2 there is a small archeological collection of objects coming from S. Mauro, Altoprando and Piano Casazze, seats of important Sicilian-Greek centres. The restoration of the paintings of the Musei Civici has been remarkable. The most important recovery has been the table symbolizing S. Antonio da Padova, which was part of a polyptych. The painting of S. Benedetto, painted by Gaetano Mangano, dates back to the end of the XVIII century.

Provincial Tourism Board of Catania
http://www.apt-catania.com
E-mail : apt@apt-catania.com