Palazzo Ducezio is the town hall of the town of

Noto Noto (; ) is a city and in the Province of Syracuse, Sicily, Italy. It is southwest of the city of Syracuse at the foot of the Iblean Mountains. It lends its name to the surrounding area Val di Noto. In 2002 Noto and its church were decl ...

, in

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. ...

History

Construction works of the building were started by architect

Vincenzo Sinatra Vincenzo Sinatra (1707 – 1765) was a Sicily, Sicilian architect. He was a pupil of Rosario Gagliardi. Sinatra worked in both the Baroque style and later in Neo-Classical style. Following the 1693 Sicily earthquake, 1693 earthquake, the ci ...

in 1746, drawing inspiration from some French palaces of the 17th century. The Palazzo Ducezio, seat of the Town Hall, was built around 1760. The oval Hall known as the Hall of Mirrors was enriched with stucco and gold in

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached maturity (then defi ...

style and with sumptuous mirrors at the end of the nineteenth century. At the beginning of the 1930s, on the occasion of the official visit of

Umberto Umberto is a masculine Italian given name. It is the Italian form of Humbert. People with the name include: * King Umberto I of Italy (1844–1900) * King Umberto II of Italy (1904–1983) * Prince Umberto, Count of Salemi (1889–1918) * Umberto ...

and Marie-José, Princes of Piedmont, the hall was restored by the painter Gregorietti. The furnishings were made by the master Dugo, craftsman of the Franza Company. The central painting on the vault, attributed to Antonimo Mazza, was made in 1826, and depicts an allegory of Ducezio, king of the Siculi, to whom an officer of the Engineers shows the site of Neas on Mount Alveria. Site on which in the pre- Hellenic age the fortified city of Noto Antica was rebuilt, to defend against the attack of the Greeks. In the side panels there are inscriptions that relate to the glories of the city of Noto; and expressions taken from

Diodorus Siculus Diodorus Siculus or Diodorus of Sicily (; 1st century BC) was an ancient Greece, ancient Greek historian from Sicily. He is known for writing the monumental Universal history (genre), universal history ''Bibliotheca historica'', in forty ...

, Littara and Randazzo. On the left side there is also a telegram from Garibaldi to the patriots of Noto from 1860. The Hall of Mirrors is the city's reception room, and continues to host illustrious delegations and prestigious events, such as the signing of the memorandum of understanding between the Eight

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

Municipalities for the creation of the cultural district. The hall has been used to receive many Heads of State. After being closed in the 1990s, it was reopened after restoration on 14 July 2001, on the occasion of the visit of the delegation of the Hungarian Government, for the twinning between the city and Hungary, for the two poets Sador Petofi and Giuseppe Cassone, the latter being the Italian translator of the Hungarian poet. On that occasion, the Hungarian Government donated a marble bust placed at the entrance of the Town Hall.

Description

The façade, convex in shape, is characterized by twenty arches supported by

Ionic order The Ionic order is one of the three canonic classical order, orders of classical architecture, the other two being the Doric order, Doric and the Corinthian order, Corinthian. There are two lesser orders: the Tuscan order, Tuscan (a plainer Doric) ...

columns on the lower floor, and thirteen rectangular windows in the upper floor. Inside, the Hall of Mirrors is noteworthy. This is an oval-shaped hall furnished with Louis XV-style furniture and large mirrors carved by Avoli artist Sebastiano Dugo. Adorning the ceiling of the hall is ''The Foundation of Neas'', a neoclassical fresco by painter Antonio Mazza depicting the foundation of Noto by Sicilian leader

Ducetius Ducetius () (died 440 BCE) was a Hellenized leader of the Sicels and founder of a united Sicilian state and numerous cities.LiviusDucetius of Sicily Retrieved on 25 April 2006. It is thought he may have been born around the town of Mineo. His s ...

Gallery

File:Noto, palazzo ducezio 00.JPG File:Noto, palazzo ducezio 01.JPG File:Paolo Monti - Servizio fotografico (Noto, 1953) - BEIC 6346698.jpg

References

External links

Palazzo Ducezio on Catalogo generale dei Beni Culturali
��{{in lang, it

Buildings and structures in Noto