Bagheria - Bagheria

Bagheria is a city of Sicily.

To know

Bagheria is famous for the presence of the many noble villas of the eighteenth century but also for having given birth to personalities such as the painter Guttuso and the director Tornatore.

Geographical notes

The city is narrow south from the highway and to the north it is cut by the railway line. It is located a few kilometers from the sea in a higher position, while the hamlet of Aspra represents the release to the sea.

North of the city near the coast develops Mount Catalfano a 325 m mountain which is also a nature reserve.

When to go

The city can be visited at any time of the year. In summer, the presence of the sea attracts a certain amount of tourists.

Background

The city became the seat of the most beautiful Palermitan noble villas, once covered with greenery and cultivated fields, today it has been badly urbanized.

How to orient yourself

The city center revolves around the very central 38.078813.5111 Corso Umberto I which begins at the church of the Madrice and ends in a circular square where it is also located villa Palagonia.

Fraction

• 38.103313.49911 Harsh - a seaside village north of the city.

How to get

By car

From the highway coming from Palermo, Messina or Catania, take the Bagheria exit.

On the train

• 38.089713.50742 Bagheria station. The station is located along the Palermo-Messina line.  

How to get around

The city with its villas can also be visited on foot, but their position certainly makes it easier to use the car.

What see

Villas and palaces

• 38.07660413.5074491 Butera-Branciforti Palace (Palazzo Butera or U Palazzu), Via Dammuselli, 2. Full 2 ​​€, reduced 1 € (Jan 2020). Mon-Sun 8: 45-13: 30. Built in 1658 by Giuseppe Branciforti, prince of Pietraperzia and Leonforte. On the entrance door there are two epigraphs, one of which is by Miguel De Cervantes. In neoclassical style, it previously housed life-size statues of famous people with Horace Nelson, King Roger II etc. Today the building houses some offices of the Municipality of Bagheria. 

• 38.07639813.5151032 Villa Valguarnera, Via Valguarnera, @[email protected]. It can be visited by reservation, only for groups. Built in 1712 on a project by Tommaso Maria Napoli, the architect of Villa Palagonia himself, it is one of the most sumptuous and beautiful villas in Bagheria. Owned by the Valguarnera princes, today the Alliata princes, relatives of Dacia Maraini and of the father Fosco. The Villa is also famous for having appeared in several films and television broadcasts. In the villa there are several architectural elements that recall alchemy. The villa is also a luxury hotel.  

• 38.07966213.5114523 Villa Palagonia (villa of monsters), Piazza Garibaldi, 3, ☎ 39 091 93 20 88, fax: 39 091 92 21 18, @[email protected]. From 01 Apr to 31 Oct: 9: 00-13: 00 and 16: 00-19: 00. From 01 Nov to 31 Mar: 9: 00-13: 00 and 15: 15-17: 30. Surely the most famous villa in the city, built in 1715 by Prince Gravina di Palagonia; its fame derives from the presence of deformed and animalistic sculptures that have alchemical meanings, starting from the sculptures of musicians (nigredo) to reach the material consistency of deformed creatures (rubedo). In 1787 the villa was visited by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe which describes it as follows:

"Imagine such figures galore, without sense and without reason, put together without choice or discernment, imagine these hooves and pedestals and deformities aligned as far as the eye can see: and you will experience the painful feeling that oppresses those who find themselves passing under the rods from this madness. "

In the middle of the driveway is the so-called Arch of the Eternal Father, with four huge statues of hunters (see below). The interior of the villa is decorated with noble wall paintings. Several films were shot here including: The mafia by Lattuada e Baarìa of Tornatore.  

• 38.08871513.5078544 Palazzo Cutò (Aragona Palace of Cutò), Via Consolare, 105 (near the train station), ☎ 39 091 909277, @[email protected]. Admission € 2. Reduced € 1 (Jan 2020). Mon-Fri 8: 30-13: 30. Wed and Thu 15: 30-18: 00. It was built between 1712 and 1716 by Luigi Onofrio Naselli, prince of Aragon, as a summer residence. Then it was bought by the prince of Cutò. In the early twentieth century, among the owners there was also Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, future author of Il Gattopardo. In 1923 Giuseppe Tomasi sold the villa keeping the private property until 1987 when the whole complex was bought by the Municipality. Currently the building has become the seat of the Francesco Scaduto Municipal Library and other institutional uses. Inside there are also frescoes dating back to 1726, attributed to the painter Guglielmo Borremans; show scenes from mythological life and scenes from the Bible.  

• 38.08825313.5132915 Villa San Cataldo (Villa Galletti San Cataldo), Via Papa Giovanni, ☎ 39 091 943111. full 2 ​​€, reduced 1 € (Jan 2020). on reservation. Built in the early eighteenth century, it was radically transformed at the end of the nineteenth century and decorated in a neo-Gothic style. All that remains of the original eighteenth-century structure is the small church and the large Italian garden. Of rare beauty is the majestic eighteenth-century garden with its luxuriant vegetation, once rich in exotic plants; today cultivated with citrus fruits. At the beginning of the twentieth century the villa was sold to the Jesuit Fathers' Society of Jesus. In 1998 the villa was purchased by the regional Province of Palermo. 

• 38.07949513.5078796 Villa Larderìa, Piazza Larderia. Villa built in 1752 by Prince Francesco Litterio Moncada of Larderia. Today the building is owned by the Collegine Sisters of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. 
• 38.08632613.505577 Inguaggiato Palace, Corso Butera, 116. Built in 1770, it was the seat of the Bourbon troops until 1860. Rectangular in shape, with two floors, it is set against a C-shaped body that forms the rear courtyard, which was then interrupted. On the façade and on the sides, carving reliefs reproduce military elements such as helmets, shields and spears. The palace is a typical example of the fusion between neoclassical austerity and Baroque decoration. Today it is privately owned. 
• 38.07518513.5001748 Villarosa Palace, Via Flavio Gioia, 2, ☎ 39 091 961179, @[email protected]. on request. Built in 1763 by Placido Notarbartolo, Duke of Villarosa. This is the only Neoclassical style villa in Bagheria, and has an elegant portico with tall Corinthian columns. The villa is private property and is used for receptions.  

• 38.07668413.5112449 Villa Trabia (Villa Lanza di Trabia), via Trabia. Not open to visitors. Villa Trabia was built by Michele Gravina, prince of Comitini in the mid-1700s. It was then purchased by prince Pietro Lanza di Trabia who, in 1890, ordered its restoration which profoundly changed the original appearance into one of neoclassical style with stucco ornaments. white on a dark gray background. At the center of the fountain in front of the main entrance is the statue of the Abundance by Marabitti, once located in the Butera villa. Today the villa is privately owned.  
• 38.09552613.50988510 Villa Ramacca, Via Case Ramacca, 141 (north of Bagheria, just outside the city), ☎ 39 091 932860. Mid-18th century villa built by Bernardo Gravina, prince of Ramacca. The villa is used for receptions and weddings. 
• 38.06799213.5133411 Villa Serradifalco, Via Serradifalco. Not open to visitors. This ancient Villa is now a retirement home. 

• 38.07368913.51775412 Villa Spedalotto, Via de Spuches (Although accessible from Bagheria, it is administratively part of the municipality of Santa Flavia). It is an 18th century villa. The interiors are frescoed in a style between the Neoclassical-Pompeian and the Empire. From 9 October to 9 December 1799, the hereditary royal princes Francesco di Borbone (future King Francesco I) were hosted with his wife on the run for the ongoing revolution. Later they will stay there Francis II of Bourbon, Duke of Calabria, and Louis Philippe d'Orleans, future king of the French. The Jesuit astronomer father often stayed there Angelo Secchi. In 1987, in the chapel of the Villa, the marriage between the Duke of Aosta Amedeo di Savoia and Silvia Paternò di Spedalotto was celebrated. While in 1991 it was the location for some scenes of the film Johnny Stecchino of Roberto Benigni. The villa is now a private residence.  

The churches

• 38.0782413.5062213 Bagheria Madrice Church, Madrice square, ☎ 39 091 963750. The works were started in 1769 and completed in 1771 and dedicated to the Nativity of Mary. In 1872 a clock was installed on the facade of the church.  
• 38.0788213.50790314 Church of SS. Tomb,, Via Mons.D. co Buttitta, 1. Church of the eighteenth century with changes in the neo-Gothic style of the early twentieth century. 
• 38.07765313.50572115 Santissime Anime del Purgatorio church, Cirrincione Square, 13. 
• 38.07112813.51291316 Church of Sant'Antonio, Via S. Antonio. 

The towers

• Amalfitano Tower. 
• Bellacera Tower. 
• Torre Chiarandà. 
• Cordova Tower. 
• Torre Ferrante. 
• Mortillaro Tower. 
• Parisi Tower. 
• 38.08104713.51415817 Torre Roccaforte, via Roccaforte (Next to Morricone's mural). This tower is part of the Villa Roccaforte. 

Museums

• 38.08984313.50143618 Villa Cattolica (Guttuso Museum), Via Rammacca, 9, ☎ 39 366 8035918. Full: € 6 Reduced: € 4 School groups: € 2. From 22/10 to 21/03 Tue-Sun 9: 00-17: 00. From 22/03 to 21/10 Tue-Sun 9: 00-18: 00. Built in 1736. The structure of the building is composed of two parallel exedras; on one of them there is a large terrace above a loggia, on the other a large access staircase. The villa houses the Guttuso Museum, with the works of the master and other contemporary artists including the director Tornatore e Mario Schifano. Inside the garden is the painter's tomb.  
• 38.08591413.50207919 Museum - Observatory of contemporary art in Sicily, Via Luigi Cherubini, 12, ☎ 39 338 651 6463. Full € 5, reduced € 3 (Jan 2020). Tue-Sun 17: 00-20: 00. Private museum of contemporary art founded by Ezio Pagano in 1997. It collects paintings and sculptures by various Sicilian artists, such as Carla Accardi, Pietro Consagra, Piero Guccione, Emilio Isgrò, Augusto Perez, Antonio Sanfilippo, Salvatore Scarpitta, Fosco Maraini, Ferdinando Scianna, Giuseppe Tornatore, Nino Franchina. It also houses a collection of photographs, including those of the Mexican painter Frida Kahlo.  

• 38.0741113.50786420 Charterhouse of villa Butera (Pietro Piraino Toy and Wax Museum), Via Behind the Charterhouse, ☎ 39 091 967569, 39 3356651025, 39 3665932714, fax: 39 091 580008, @[email protected]. Tue-Sun 9: 00-13: 00. Once this building was part of Villa Butera, today it houses the toy museum. 
• 38.09792413.50122421 Villa Sant'Isidoro De Cordova, Viale Sant'Isidoro, 39 (In the hamlet of Aspra), ☎ 39 392 246 7065. Tue-Sat 10: 00-13: 00 and 15: 00-18: 00. Sun 10: 00-13: 00. Built at the end of the 18th century by the Marquis Cordova di Sant'Isidoro, it is accessed via a double staircase. The interiors are decorated with frescoes by Jusepe de Ribera, Pietro Novelli, Scipione Compagno and others. Various rooms follow one another between the rooms. Today it houses a museum and where works by the Sicilian sculptor Vincenzo Gennaro are exhibited. 

Other

• 38.08292513.50782922 Arch Of The Eternal Father, Via Palagonia, 75B. This monumental arch with statues was the entrance to the Villa Palagonia. A vague idea can be given from the perspective of via Palagonia that reaches the villa. Below the arch there is a copy of the wooden bas-relief now preserved in the Guttuso Museum. 
• 38.08105713.51367723 Mural by Ennio Morricone, Via G. Paisiello. This mural arose after the death of the great master of cinema music and represents him with the gesture of silence. 

Events and parties

• Feast of St. Joseph. March 19. Patronal feast and sfincia festival. 
• Mary of Sorrows, Harsh. September 15. 

What to do

It is very pleasant to take a walk along the promenade of Aspra.

• Trekking on Monte Catalfano. Walk of about 4 km with an altitude difference of 200 m and a time of 3 hours. 
• 38.07389413.5097181 Bagheria Bowling, Via Anjou, 113 / O, ☎ 39 091 969216. 

Shopping

How to have fun

Where to eat

In addition to Sicilian food and sweets in Bagheria there is the exhausts, a fried pastry filled with fresh ricotta. This dessert is traditionally produced in correspondence with the feast of St. Joseph but it can be easily found in the bars and pastry shops of the city.

Moderate prices

• 38.0785313.5081091 Bar Valentina, Corso Umberto I, 41, ☎ 39 091 903922. Mon-Sun 4: 45-21: 30. 
• 38.078213.5076622 The arch of the course, via dell'arco, ☎ 39 340 6285879. Takeaway restaurant and food. Upstairs there is a room where you can consume food. First, second and panelle. 
• 38.08414313.5018333 Antica Pasticceria Don Gino, Via Dante Alighieri, 66/68, ☎ 39 091 968778. Bar and pastry shop with high quality products. Not to be missed. 

Average prices

• 38.10416613.4948334 ^{[link not working]}Ricci & Capricci restaurant, Corso Italia, 11 (In Aspra on the seafront), ☎ 39 091 956262. Tue-Sun 12: 00-15: 30, 19: 00-24: 00. Mon 19: 00-24: 00. Seafood restaurant. 
• 38.10417313.4937295 Gallo D'Oro Restaurant, Corso Italia, 2 (In Aspra on the seafront), ☎ 39 091 956576. Mon-Sun 12: 30-15: 00 and 19: 30-02: 00. Seafood restaurant. 
• 38.08376213.5017926 Mata Hari, Via Dante Alighieri, 79 / E, ☎ 39 091 961519. Mon-Sun 19: 00-24: 00. Pizzeria, Restaurant, Bistrot, Steak House, Wine Bar, Brewery. 

Where stay

Average prices

• 38.04775313.4803481 Rajata farmhouse, SP127, 88, ☎ 39 091 967338, @[email protected]. Ancient rural villa of the 900 located on the slopes of Mount Porcara at 200 meters above sea level between Bagheria and Misilmeri. 
• 38.07333313.5110982 From Franco il Conte, Via Vallone de Spuches, 29/31. 

Safety

The greatest danger is constituted by the traffic and the rather casual and sometimes dangerous driving of the Bagheresi. Respect for pedestrians, but also for the same priorities, is low. There are no stripes on the ground, as they are erased by time, which makes driving even more chaotic.

How to keep in touch

Keep informed

• Bagheria's voice

Around

• 38.09305613.5313893 Archaeological area of ​​Solunto, Via Collegio Romano - locality Solunto, Santa Flavia. Full 4 €, reduced 2 € (Jan 2020). Tue-Sat 9: 00-17: 30, Sun and holidays 9: 00-14: 00. Archaeological site of the ancient Punic city of Solunto.  
• 38.08613213.476824 Medieval aqueduct (Next to the railway bridge near Ficarazzi. From turn into the Eleuterio municipal road.). This aqueduct that crosses the Eleuterio River near the mouth dates back to the 15th century and is made up of nine arches. It carried the water to the sugar cane fields which were located a short distance away. one scholar defined it as: "The only Sicilian aqueduct from the Middle Ages and the modern age still existing and the first aqueduct for industrial purposes; it is among the most magnificent aqueducts in southern Italy." 

Itineraries

• Bagheria, Casteldaccia, Santa Flavia and Ficarazzi. 27 km bike path between Bagheria, Casteldaccia, Santa Flavia and Ficarazzi with an altitude difference of 360 m. 

Useful information

The beauty of the villas, of which the great majority are private and cannot be visited, is in stark contrast to the squalor of the city streets. The often dilapidated buildings and the state of the streets, dirty and poorly maintained, seem a distinctive sign of the same.

Other projects

• Wikipedia contains an entry concerning Bagheria
• Commons contains images or other files on Bagheria
• Wikiquote contains quotes from or on Bagheria

Usable : the article respects the characteristics of a draft but in addition it contains enough information to allow a short visit to the city. Use i correctly listing (the right type in the right sections).