Archivio di Stato di Palermo

The State Archives of Palermo, established under the name “Grande Archivio” by the organic law of August 1, 1843, trace their origin to the royal dispatch of February 11, 1814, encouraged by the Parliament of 1812, which established a General Archive to collect the writings produced by the bodies before the Kingdom of Sicily (under the Norman, Swabian, Angevin, and Aragonese dynasties), then, from 1412, of the Viceroyalty and finally, from 1816, of the Lieutenancy of the Kingdom of Naples.

The State Archives of Palermo has the task of preserving, promoting knowledge of, enhancing, and overseeing the archives of state offices no longer needed for ordinary dealings or the archives and documents that, in any capacity, have come into the possession of the State. As cultural assets, they are elements of the cultural heritage.

In addition to the archives of the pre-unification bodies and those of the territorial peripheral organs of the State, the State Archives also preserves:

– the notarial archives up to the first half of the 19th century

– the archives of religious corporations suppressed in 1866

– the private archives of noble or notable Sicilian families

Since 1975, the State Archives of Palermo has been a peripheral body of the Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Activities

– The “Catena” headquarters of the State Archives of Palermo is located in the premises of the former convent of the Theatine Fathers, built at the beginning of the seventeenth century, next to the fifteenth-century church of Santa Maria della Catena.

– The “Gancia” headquarters is a short distance away, in the former Franciscan convent of Santa Maria degli Angeli, called della Gancia, also adjacent to the homonymous church dating back to the 15th century.

– The Termini Imerese Section of the State Archives depends on the State Archives of Palermo.