Palazzo del Monte di Pietà

Messina, Italy

Palazzo del Monte di Pietà was built in 1616 for the Arciconfraternita degli Azzurri. The building was modified in 1741 with the addition of a first floor, a bell tower and a staircase. These were built to designs of the architect Antonino Basile. A fountain decorated with a statue of Abundance was built in the middle of the staircase.

The structure was damaged during the earthquake of 1783 and that of 1908. The building's upper floor was largely destroyed during the latter earthquake. The structure was further damaged by World War II bombings. Restoration of the building began in 1979, and it is now used for cultural purposes.

Architecture

The Palazzo del Monte di Pietà is built in the Mannerist style. The ground floor has a central rusticated portal topped by a broken pediment, flanked by two windows on each side. The windows are topped by triangular pediments, and they are separated by niches.

The first floor of the building, which was constructed in the 18th century, had an open balcony flanked by two windows on each side. The balcony and the lower parts of the windows can still be seen, but the rest of the floor was destroyed in the 1908 earthquake.

The building contains a large vaulted hall which opens into a courtyard. This leads to the 18th-century monumental staircase, leading to the Church of Santa Maria della Pietà. Only part of the façade of the church has survived; the building itself was destroyed during the 1908 earthquake.

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Details

Founded: 1616
Category: Palaces, manors and town halls in Italy

More Information

en.wikipedia.org

Rating

4.3/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Fabio Russo (10 months ago)
Reopened to the public after years of abandonment to any initiative, it always remains very suggestive. It is hoped that in the coming years, given that the municipality has rented the monument, there will be various initiatives aimed at enhancing this historical heritage.
Roberto Sciarrone (2 years ago)
The Palazzo del Monte di Pieta is a building designed by the architect Natale Masuccio, it is located in via XXIV Maggio (once "via dei Monasteri"), in the city of Messina. Built starting from 1616 on behalf of the Archconfraternity of the Blues. Of the commission to Masuccio, who settled in Messina in old age, only one documentary trace remains by the hand of the Jesuit architect, relating to the supply of stone from the island of Rhodes. At the death of the designer, only the ground floor was built, characterized by a portal and rusticated ashlar corners referring to Tuscan Mannerism. The upper level was completed after his death by other designers who did not respect the original plan. After passing the entrance portal you find yourself in an atrium with a barrel vault, on the right a door inside which a staircase led to the upper floors and, in front, a monumental fountain with a putto riding a dolphin, from 1732. In 1741, on the occasion of the bicentenary of the foundation of the Compagnia degli Azzurri, the spectacular staircase leading to the church of Santa Maria della Pietà was built, based on projects and drawings by the architect Antonio Basile and the painter Placido Campolo, artefacts made of red marble veined with Taormina. Eighteenth-century façade characterized by an ashlar portal with a marble plaque bearing the words "MONTE DI PIETA'" and above the arch a plaque "MAIOR OMNIUM CHARITAS 1789" in memory of the renovations carried out after the southern Calabria earthquake of 1783. On the sides there are there are four windows alternating with six niches. Contemporary era Edit The building was seriously damaged by the 1908 earthquake. Restored again in 1979, it is used for cultural events, shows and exhibitions, especially the courtyard and the staircase. With a duly registered rental contract, the Archconfraternity of the Blues and the Peace of the Whites has granted it for use to the Regional Province of Messina (with the systems and furnishings with which it is equipped), to allow it to plan, organize and carry out public events of a cultural and social nature of relevance and quality compatible with the peculiarity of the place and with the image of the Archconfraternity. In the Chapel the painting Jesus Christ with the Cross, a work by Jacopo Vignerio, is documented.
Nebojsa Markovic (2 years ago)
Closed, looks abandoned, which is a pity, second photo's taken through the bars.
Fulvio Ciccolo (3 years ago)
Bello vedere un palazzo storico della propria città ospitare un evento interessante. Controlli anti covid efficaci.
Antonio Tedesco (3 years ago)
Interesting place, in which I have witnessed several events over the years, but it needs updating
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