Villa Cattolica – headquarters of the “Guttuso Museum”

Near the entrance to the Municipality of Bagheria, it stands in an enchanting area surrounded by greenery. Built in 1736 by Francesco Bonanno, Prince of Cattolica, the villa, surrounded by high crenellated walls, looks like a large castle with artistic Baroque architecture. It has a quadrangular shape with two parallel exedras, one of which houses the staircase; the other a large terrace with a loggia below, recently recovered by the municipality of Bagheria. Since 1973, following a generous donation of works by the master painter Renato Guttuso, the noble floor of the villa has been home to the ” Guttuso Museum”. Since 1990, the monumental sarcophagus, designed by his fraternal friend Giacomo Manzù, has been placed in the northern exedra and houses the remains of Guttuso. Since 1988 the Villa has been owned by the municipality. (Visitable)

Hours and Prices: http://www.museoguttuso.com

Works Guttuso Museum

In depth

Looking towards the upper part of the front where the grand staircase unfolds, above the central balcony, one can observe the coat of arms of Giuseppe Bonanni and Filangeri, prince of Cattolica, and the engraving of the date of construction of the building. A theater workshop and two ancient “putìe” have been operating on the ground floor for some years: that of the cart painters of the Ducato brothers, and that of maestro Durante, a sculptor of Aspra stone.