Page 58 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Sicily

56  P ALERMO AREA B Y AREA

2 Palazzo Abatellis

This Catalan Gothic building, which now houses the
19 rooms of the Galleria Regionale della Sicilia, has an
austere air. The elegant doorway leads to the large
courtyard, which has a portico on the right side and a
stairway to the upper floors. On the ground floor is
one of its most famous works, the Triumph of Death
fresco (painted by an unknown artist, and located in the
former chapel) as well as a fine collection of statues by
Antonello Gagini and Francesco Laurana. The first floor
has noteworthy late medieval crucifixes including one
by Pietro Ruzzolone (16th century), and paintings by . Annunciation
Antonello da Messina. The most interesting work by a This is perhaps the best-known work
foreign artist is the Malvagna Triptych by Jan Gossaert by the great Antonello da Messina
(known as Mabuse). (1430–79). It is a masterful and
exquisite example of 15th-century
figurative rationalism and the artist’s
fusion of Northern and Italian painting.

The “Laurana Room” houses
the great sculptor’s famous
Bust of Eleonora of Aragon
(see p49).

. The Triumph of Death
Among the sculptures in this room is a fine medieval
fresco by an unknown artist, portraying Death in
the guise of a knight shooting his bow (see pp36–7).

Ground floor

Main entrance

Virgin and Child
This sculpture group, Façade of
attributed to the palazzo
Domenico Gagini
(c.1420–1492), comes
from the Basilica di
San Francesco d’Assisi
in Palermo (see p55).
Note the delicate
treatment of the
Virgin’s features.
For hotels and restaurants in this area see p202 and pp210–11

056-057_EW_Sicily.indd 56 11/3/16 2:09 PM
Eyewitness Travel LAYERS PRINTED:
Starsight template “UK” LAYER
(Source v2.7)
Date 24th April 2013
Size 125mm x 217mm