
The Palazzo Gravina-Cruyllas is a palace located on the corner of Piazza San Francesco and Via Vittorio Emanuele (Il Corso), in the center of the city of
Catania
Catania (, , , Sicilian and ) is the second-largest municipality on Sicily, after Palermo, both by area and by population. Despite being the second city of the island, Catania is the center of the most densely populated Sicilian conurbation, wh ...
,
Sicily
Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...
, southern
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
.
Vincenzo Bellini
Vincenzo Salvatore Carmelo Francesco Bellini (; ; 3 November 1801 – 23 September 1835) was an Italian opera composer famed for his long, graceful melodies and evocative musical settings. A central figure of the era, he was admired not only ...
was born here, and the site now houses a museum dedicated to the opera composer: the Museo Civico Belliniano. The entrance stands across the piazza from the
Monument to Blessed Giuseppe Dusmet and the church of
San Francesco d'Assisi all'Immacolata.
History and description

The prior palace of the aristocratic Gravina Cruyllas, Princes of Palagonia, was razed by the
1693 Sicily earthquake
The 1693 Sicily earthquake was a natural disaster that struck parts of southern Italy near Sicily, then a territory part of the Crown of Aragon by the Kings of Spain Calabria and Malta, on 11 January at around 21:00 local time. This earthquake was ...
. The palace was rebuilt in the 18th-century, rising next to the ruins of the
Teatro Romano. Originally, the main portal faced via Vittorio Emanuele, but now faces the piazza. The architect is unknown, but has similarities to the work of
Francesco Battaglia. The building has undergone many modifications, including addition of a fourth floor after 1924. The house was declared a national monument in 1923, and inaugurated as a museum by 1930.
Comune of Catania
entry on site.
Notes
*Derived from Italian wikipedia entry
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Palaces in Catania
Historic house museums in Italy