Palazzo Ajutamicristo
Encyclopedia
Palazzo Ajutamicristo is a palace in Palermo
, Sicily
, Italy
.
It was constructed by Guglielmo Ajutamicristo, Baron of Misilmeri and Calatafimi between 1495 and 1501. Originally a merchant
Ajutamicristo made his fortune trading in Sicilian cheese and cereals. The palazzo was built to celebrate and display the family's newly acquired wealth.
The architect selected was the already eminent Matteo Carnilivari and a site chosen at Via Garibaldi close to the now destructed Palermo's Termini Gate. The original plan was for a far larger and extravagant house, however these plans had to be modified, and a financial restrain exercised, thus the completed house was smaller than originally intended.
In spite of its reduced size the house became a centre of Sicilian high society
, and was considered a superior residence to Palermo's royal palace, as a consequence the Ajutamicristo's entertained many leading political figures of the day, the Queen of Naples was entertained in great style at the house on 1500, and 1535 the Emperor Charles V
.
The Ajutamicristo's ownership of the house was to be short-lived, and in 1588 the owner Margherita Ajutamicristo sold the building to Francesco Moncada, Ist Prince of Paternò. The property remained in the ownership of the Paternò
family for two hundred years until in the 18th century when it was sold to Baron Calefati di Canalotti in whose family it has remained until the present day.
The Calefati family had many of the salons remodelled, of particular note is the frescoed ball room with its ceiling, painted by Giuseppe Crestadoro depicting "The Glory of the Virtuous Prince".
Palermo
Palermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
, Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
It was constructed by Guglielmo Ajutamicristo, Baron of Misilmeri and Calatafimi between 1495 and 1501. Originally a merchant
Merchant
A merchant is a businessperson who trades in commodities that were produced by others, in order to earn a profit.Merchants can be one of two types:# A wholesale merchant operates in the chain between producer and retail merchant...
Ajutamicristo made his fortune trading in Sicilian cheese and cereals. The palazzo was built to celebrate and display the family's newly acquired wealth.
The architect selected was the already eminent Matteo Carnilivari and a site chosen at Via Garibaldi close to the now destructed Palermo's Termini Gate. The original plan was for a far larger and extravagant house, however these plans had to be modified, and a financial restrain exercised, thus the completed house was smaller than originally intended.
In spite of its reduced size the house became a centre of Sicilian high society
Upper class
In social science, the "upper class" is the group of people at the top of a social hierarchy. Members of an upper class may have great power over the allocation of resources and governmental policy in their area.- Historical meaning :...
, and was considered a superior residence to Palermo's royal palace, as a consequence the Ajutamicristo's entertained many leading political figures of the day, the Queen of Naples was entertained in great style at the house on 1500, and 1535 the Emperor Charles V
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...
.
The Ajutamicristo's ownership of the house was to be short-lived, and in 1588 the owner Margherita Ajutamicristo sold the building to Francesco Moncada, Ist Prince of Paternò. The property remained in the ownership of the Paternò
Paternò
Paternò is a town and comune in the Province of Catania, Sicily, southern Italy.-History:The site of Paternò was settled before 3500 BCE. Its inhabitants were probably the Sicani, although it was located in mainly Sicel territory; its initial name was Inessa. The modern name derives form the Greek...
family for two hundred years until in the 18th century when it was sold to Baron Calefati di Canalotti in whose family it has remained until the present day.
The Calefati family had many of the salons remodelled, of particular note is the frescoed ball room with its ceiling, painted by Giuseppe Crestadoro depicting "The Glory of the Virtuous Prince".