Page 535 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Italy

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R Oratorio del Rosario di
Santa Zita
Via Valverde 3. Tel 091 33 27 79 or 091
843 16 05 (to book). Open Apr–Oct:
9am–6pm Mon–Fri, 9am–3pm Sat;
Nov–Mar: 9am–3pm Mon–Sat. &
This small chapel is dedicated to
the Virgin of the Rosary after her
miraculous intervention at the
Battle of Lepanto (see pp62–3).
The stucco relief decoration is the
work of Giacomo Serpotta (after
1688): the panel on the rear wall
depicts the battle, and other
reliefs show scenes from the New The Palazzina Cinese (c.1799) set in the Parco della Favorita
Testament. The neighbouring
16th-century church of Santa Zita, E Palazzo Abatellis and founded in 1191 by Roger II’s
from which the oratory takes its Galleria Regionale di Sicilia chancellor, Matteo d’Aiello.
name, is filled with sculptures Via Alloro 4. Tel 091 623 00 11. A highlight of Norman architec-
(1517–27) by Antonello Gagini. Open 9am–6pm Tue–Sat. & ture, it has a simple nave flanked
Matteo Carnelivari built by fine Gothic columns.
this palace combining
Spanish late Gothic and Y Villa Giulia
Italian Renaissance styles Via Lincoln. Open 9am–5pm daily.
in the 15th century. It is 7 Orto Botanico: Tel 091 740 40 28.
home to the Galleria Open Nov–Mar: 8am–5pm daily (to
Regionale di Sicilia, 2pm Sun); longer opening hours in the
which houses Antonello summer. Closed public hols. & 7
da Messina’s Vergine The villa’s formal gardens were
Annunziata (1476) and established in the 1700s. Once,
Francesco Laurana’s marble with their statues and fountains,
head of Eleanor of Aragon they evoked the antique world.
(15th century). Nearby, the Nowadays, their tropical flora
15th-century church of and faded grandeur make them
Santa Maria degli Angeli (or delightful for walks. There are
La Gancia) contains works splendid tropical plants in the
by Antonello Gagini and adjacent Orto Botanico
Ornate interior of the Oratorio di Santa Zita Giacomo Serpotta. (botanical gardens), and plant
specimens can be examined in
R Oratorio di San Lorenzo Léon Dufourny’s Neo-Classical
Via Immacolatella 5. Tel 091 611 81 68. Gymnasium (1789). Palermo’s
Open 10am–6pm daily. & only central park, Villa Giulia has
Lining the walls of this tiny good children’s facilities.
oratory are incredible stucco
scenes from the lives of Y Parco della Favorita
St Francis and St Lawrence, Entrance on Piazza Leoni & Piazza
and allegorical figures and Generale Cascino. Open daily. 7
putti by Giacomo Serpotta Museo Etnografico Siciliano Pitré: Via
(1699–1706). These remarkable Duca degli Abruzzi 1. Tel 091 740 48
works exhibit the virtuosity of 90. Open 9am–1pm Mon–Fri (Wed:
their creator in the handling of also 3:30–5pm). Closed public hols. &
his medium. Caravaggio’s This park, laid out as a hunting
Nativity with St Francis and ground in 1799 by the Bourbon
St Lawrence (1609) was stolen Vergine Annunziata (1476) by da Messina in Ferdinand IV, was surrounded
from above the altar in 1969. the Galleria Regionale by the nobles’ summer villas.
The oratory lies hidden next One of these, the Palazzina
to the 13th-century church of R La Magione Cinese (c.1799), was built in a
San Francesco d’Assisi, which Via Magione 44. Tel 091 617 05 96 Chinese style for Ferdinand III
brims with great sculpture. or 339 377 41 37 (mobile). and Maria Carolina, the sister of
The highlight of the church Open 9am–7pm daily (to 1pm Sun in Marie Antoinette. The Museo
is the triumphal arch (1468) winter). 8 R 7 Etnografico Siciliano Pitré,
by Pietro da Bonitate and ∑ basilicalamagione.diocesipa.it in the stables of the Palazzina
Francesco Laurana in the Restorations have revealed the Cinese, has a fine collection
Cappella Mastrantonio. ancient structure of this church of Sicilian objects.

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