Photo: Jpbazard Jean-Pierre Bazard, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
At a glance
- Style
- Baroque architecture
- Architect
- Tommaso Maria Napoli
- Coordinates
- 38°04′47″ N, 13°30′41″ E
History and description
The Villa Palagonia is a patrician villa in Bagheria, 15 km from Palermo, in Sicily, southern Italy. The villa itself, built from 1715 by the architect Tommaso Napoli with the help of Agatino Daidone, is one of the earliest examples of Sicilian Baroque. However, its popularity comes mainly from the statues of monsters with human faces that decorate its garden and its wall, and earned it the nickname of "The Villa of Monsters" (Villa dei Mostri).
This series of grotesques, created from 1749 by Francesco Ferdinando II Gravina, Prince of Palagonia, aroused the curiosity of the travellers of the Grand Tour during the 18th and 19th centuries, for instance Henry Swinburne, Patrick Brydone, John Soane, Goethe, the Count de Borde, the artist Jean-Pierre Houël or Alexandre Dumas, prior to fascinate surrealists like André Breton or contemporary authors such as Giovanni Macchia and Dominique Fernandez, or the painter Renato Guttuso.
In 1885, the villa was bought by private individuals, whose heirs are still in possession, and is partially open to the public.
Palagonìa and Mineo
Palagonìa and Mineo are in a rocky area rich in caves, some used as tombs. One of them, the tomb 15 of Mineo (St. Febronia), has an inscription with letters high 8.5/6 cm on the right side and 13/10 cm on the left. Paleographic studies of the funerary inscriptions date the tombs to the VII century BC. Similar archeological findings were made in Licodia Eubea, Sciri (with affinities to the etruscan Tarquinia) and Mendolito (Adrano), showing a close connection between the Sicels and the population living in the central Italy like the Etruscans.
Text from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Full article: «Villa Palagonia».
People
Events and people from Wikidata (CC0).
Photos
Getting there
BagheriaTrain, nearest
1.2 km as the crow flies
Villa Palagonia
Aeroporto di Palermo Falcone e Borsellino37.5 km
Distances are as the crow flies, not walking or driving.
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Nearby
See on the mapMore historic villas and palaces in Sicily
Frequently asked questions
Where is Villa Palagonia?
Villa Palagonia is in Bagheria, in the province of Palermo (Sicily), Italy. GPS coordinates: 38.07966, 13.51145.
What else is there to see near Villa Palagonia?
Nearby you’ll find: Villa Valguarnera (500 m away), Villa Spedalotto (900 m away), Villa San Marco (900 m away).
Sources and licences
Text. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Data. Wikidata (CC0); opening hours and contacts OpenStreetMap (ODbL).
Photos. Wikimedia Commons, author and licence on every image.
Credits for the 9 photos
- Villa Palagonia (3) — Jpbazard Jean-Pierre Bazard, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Bagheria, Villa Palagonia — Antonio Pignato, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Chiesetta di Villa Palagonia 01 — Davide Mauro, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Villa Palagonia (1) — Jpbazard Jean-Pierre Bazard, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Villa Palagonia (Bagheria) 24 11 2024 01 — Effems, CC0
- Villa Palagonia a Bagheria, 2015 — Pequod76, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Villa Palagoniako sarrera — Lasterketak, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Tre Portoni a Bagheria (1860) - proprietà Silvestre Ferruzzi — Ferpint, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Voyage pittoresque des isles de Sicile T. 1 1782 (5417564) — Jean Pierre Louis Laurent Hoüel, Public domain
Updated 28 October 2026. All sources and licences