Museums in Sicily, what’s your next stop?
Sicily is a land full of art, culture and history. Once you get there, there’s a lot to see and sometimes it’s tough to select just a couple of spots. Therefore, Sicilian Secrets picked four museums that you cannot miss. Each of them is famous for some specific peculiarities…are you ready to read more?
Palermo, Catania, Syracuse etc., whatever you want to go, Sicily will always have something for you. Not only an amazing landscape but many beautiful and interesting museums as well. Did you read the guide and felt confused? Don’t worry and pay attention to our travel tips.
Palermo: Regional Archeological Museum Antonio Salinas
If you decided to visit Palermo put the Regional Archeological Museum Antonio Salinas in your bucket list. You love history and art, for this reason you cannot miss one of the richest collections of Phoenician and Ancient Greek art in Italy, as well as many items related to the history of Sicily. You can literally plunge into legends and incredible events of the past, thanks to all the artifacts (and a little bit of imagination) you can relive the glorious past of the island. This museum is next to the Church of St. Ignatius, a fantastic example of Sicilian Baroque.
Ragusa: Donnafugata Castle
You chose Southern Sicily, in this case your itinerary passes through Ragusa and the surrounding area. Welcome to Il castello di Donnafugata. It’s characterized by a neo-classical and neo-gothic style and its name is almost legendary since many stories try to explain the origin.Unfortunately, all the romantics will be disappointed to know that it’s very likely that Donnafugata is just a linguistic alteration of an Arabic word that can be translated as Spring of Health. Once you go inside, you can visit about 120 rooms and immediately you will feel like in the famous movie The Leopard. Moreover, you can enjoy the park and if you pay attention and are a little bit curious, for sure you will recognize the set of some known movies such as Tale of Tales, directed by Matteo Garrone in 2015.
Catania: house-museum of Giovanni Verga
You love literature, books and are always interested in knowing a lot about writers. Pack and go to Catania where you can visit the house-museum of Giovanni Verga. This is the real house where this Sicilian writer was born: you can walk into the rooms where he spent his childhood, visit his office and imagine how he used to spend his days while composing some masterpieces of Italian literature. Everything inside is 100% original, included the personal library of Verga that consists of about 2600 volumes displayed on six wooden bookcases.
Syracuse: Papyrus museum
It’s small but extremely relevant for all those who love history…and technology. Yes, because once you get there you can learn a lot about production, preservation and restoration of papyrus. Syracuse has the only natural papyrus plants in Europe, definitely unique! Therefore, the museum organizes some workshops and conventions where people can learn more about this material and the techniques used in this industry. Of course, don’t miss the area dedicated to the scrolls from the XV century B.C. to the VII century A.D. and the artifacts such as boats, mats and ropes, coming from Africa.
Do you want to know more about museums in Sicily? Follow Sicilian Secrets and if you liked this article, share it with your friends on Facebook!
