The Palace of the Marquis of San Giuliano

The design of the facade facing the square is simple and solemn, demonstrating a complete break from the redundant decoration of the previous decades. However, in its formal rigor, it features some unique and innovative details, such as the brackets of the balconies on the noble floor with a slightly curved profile.

An building that reminds us of some contemporary Roman palaces, an aristocratic residence with a more European flavor compared to other late-Baroque buildings in Catania.

Of particular interest is the central section of the facade, with its majestic door and the honor balcony above. Built with polychrome marbles, the door is flanked by two marble columns, likely recovered from some Roman-era building, perhaps the theater. At the top of the arch is a double coat of arms: on the left, that of the Paternò Castello family, the commissioners of the palace, and on the right, that of the Asmundo family, another important noble family from Catania, from whom this branch of the Paternò family had inherited the marquisate of San Giuliano.

The original double staircase with a columned portico at the back of the inner courtyard, aligned with the entrance door, was designed by Vaccarini.

The balustrade crowning the roof, however, is a stylistic addition from the 1930s when the palace became the headquarters of the Banco di Credito Italiano.

In the 19th century, thanks to the charismatic figure of Antonino Paternò Castello, the 6th Marquis of San Giuliano, a brilliant diplomat and politician of the Kingdom of Italy, the palace reached its peak of splendor, becoming a "modern" and welcoming residence in line with the new residential comforts of the time.

The 20th century saw the slow decline of this aristocratic residence, which lost its function and the essence of a grand aristocratic home.

The completion to the south to make the Hotel Bristol, the additions for the Sicilian Credit, and the demolitions in the 1960s as part of the first intervention by the University have impoverished the palace of its original interior decorations and congested it with volumes.

After the 1990 earthquake, due to the damage sustained, it was decided to intervene heavily, significantly altering many parts of Vaccarini’s strict design.

Nothing remains of the grand halls once filled with pompous furniture and sparkling chandeliers that hosted kings and queens, emperors and empresses from the greatest royal dynasties of the time.

This aristocratic residence, which for decades was considered by the people of Catania as "the royal palace of Catania" because it hosted royals visiting from all over the world, is now the administrative headquarters of the University of Catania.