Museo diocesano di Piazza Armerina

The Diocesan Museum is housed in the bishop’s palace, an elegant Mannerist palace attributed to Giandomenico Gagini, with hints of Baroque, but very sober, dating back to the first half of the 17th century. It currently hosts a permanent exhibition of works of art of ecclesiastical origin or religious theme that have been found and restored, as well as temporary exhibitions of contemporary art in the western mezzanine. The permanent exhibition entitled “Recoveries and Restitutions. Acquisitions and restorations in the Diocese of Piazza Armerina” offers visitors some highly valuable works such as the large canvas of Saint Andrew the Apostle from the late 16th century, the Immaculate Conception dated 1603, and the Deposition from the mid-17th century, all coming from the Grand Priory of Saint Andrew. Numerous wooden works, crucifixes, and statues, mostly dating from the 17th century, are also on display. The Museum also has a small bookshop. The palace was built to house the bishops of Catania during their visits to the city and was part of the dowry of the Bishop of Piazza at the time of the establishment of the Diocese in 1817. In reality, only Bishop Mons. Palermo lived there between 1887 and 1896. The palace remained abandoned for several decades, was then used as a school from the late thirties to the fifties, and then remained once again in a state of abandonment. Restored by the Bishopric at the end of the nineties to house the Diocesan Museum, it is characterized by an elegant courtyard dominated by a loggia with three arches.