The nineteenth-century palace of the noble Mandralisca family houses the interdisciplinary museum featuring collections derived both from archaeological excavations conducted by Baron Enrico Pirajno di Mandralisca and from purchases through antique dealers. The museum includes an art gallery with the prized work by Antonello da Messina titled “Portrait of a Man.” The archaeological collection consists of artifacts from excavations carried out in Lipari, in the Diana district, from which comes the Siceliot red-figure on black background crater known as the “tuna seller,” and other finds from digs conducted in Tindari and Cefalù. The numismatic collection includes coins from the most important ancient mints of Sicily and nearby Lipari. The malacological collection, one of the richest in Europe, boasts rare Sicilian species such as Vitrina maravignae, Helix nebrodensis from the Madonie mountains, Helix mazzulli v. cephaludensis from the Rocca of Cefalù, and Helix aradasi. The ornithological collection comprises about 130 specimens, mostly originating from Madonie. Among the most interesting specimens are an immature griffon vulture (a species now extinct in Sicily) and a golden eagle, of which only the head remains. The extensive library collection of about seven thousand volumes in the baronial library includes an ancient collection and a historical archive, which contains two incunabula. Numerous fine pieces of furniture and art objects belonging to the ancient baronial family are preserved in the palace.
Information about Mandralisca Museum
Via Mandralisca, 13,
Cefalù (Palermo)
0921421547
info@museomandralisca.it
https://www.museomandralisca.it
Source: MIBACT
