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Palazzo Greco

The restoration by AutonomeForme, in Palermo, is based on a dialogue between the historical buildings, the new architecture and the landscape design, exalting the historical layers.

The project of restoration and completion of Palazzo Greco, developed by AutonomeForme, aims to reverse the conservative approach that has characterized the restoration’s works that were done in the last twenty years in the Palermo’s historical center and proposes a strategy of urban redesign based on a dialogue between the historical buildings, the new architecture and the landscape design. So doing the project exalts that which, more than anything else, has become the essence of this city: its ability to have multiple identities built on its many different layers.

Palazzo Greco is located in the heart of the Kalsa, the old and fortified Arabian Citadel, which is characterized by an important system of public spaces and significant relationship with the landscape. In the neighbourhood there are some of the most important cultural institutions of the city, including the Palazzo Chiaramonte Steri and various museum. The building has its monumental facade along via Alloro, which is the main axis of the Kalsa, overlooked by several nobiliar and ancient buildings, including the Palazzo Abatellis, seat of the Sicilian Regional Gallery with the refined museum designed by Carlo Scarpa.

The project of Palazzo Greco is spread over 5 levels. The intervention oversaw the restoration of the facades, the interior courtyard, the monumental staircase and the roofs, its structural consolidation and the total renovation of the building to accommodate space for residence, facilities and workshops for artists and artisans.

The Palazzo is characterized by several historical layers, the original plant, built in the fifteenth century, has undergone many changes and additions that have determined its present shape. Some of the many historical layers in this building were uncovered during the restoration and have now been incorporated into the building, such as an alley and a water tower of Arab origin with a residue of “catusi”, the terracotta pipes used for carrying water to the accommodation area.

The rediscovery of the historical traces and the choice of the elements to preserve has imposed to the designers a careful work on the details with the objective to show the many layers of history and also the memory of the dramatic events that have marked the building. Also for this the architects have decided not to rebuild the decorative plaster of the lateral facade that was partially destroyed by bombing of the World War II. Were also preserved some traces of the previous interventions of consolidation, as the big buttresses built after the war on the front of Piazza Scopari, which were maintained to highlight the design of the facade created after the collapse of a part of the building.

The main floor of the facade on via Alloro is characterized by a refined decorative detailing, made in the nineteenth century, plastered with yellow, ocher and red. With the aim to preserve the original materials, a consolidation intevention with more than 1,000 rivets in resin and titanium has been made so that, today, that of this palace, is one of the few examples of original plaster in the historic center of Palermo.

Through the creation of new terraces in the parts affected by collapses, the project opens new views to the urban waterfront which is dominated by the magnificent view of Monte Pellegrino and looks to the Villa Garibaldi, a nineteenth century garden designed by Giovan Battista Filippo Basile and home to lush vegetation and some magnificent specimens of Ficus Magnolideum which are among the oldest and largest trees in Europe.

In parallel to the restoration and the rehabilitation of the building, the redesign of the urban void created by the bombs during World War II, offers an important opportunity to rethink the relationship of the historical building within the consolidated town and create a new path which, crossing the monumental atrium of Palazzo Greco, reconnects Palazzo Abatellis with the new square offering a vision on the stereometric volume of Palazzo Steri and creates a new relationship between piazza Marina and via Alloro.