History and dreams

AFTER YEARS OF ABANDON, AN 18TH-CENTURY BUILDING IN NOTO COMES BACK TO LIFE. THANKS TO A DECOR FULL OF CULTURE AND PASSION. words photos RUBEN MODIGLIANI – MATTIA AQUILA In 1782 Niccolò di Lorenzo, Marquis of Castelluccio, built a palace in the center of Noto. He and his wife, Agata Battaglia, wanted a building that would stand out in the urban panorama, and instead of the Baroque – the dominant aesthetic of the region – they opted for simple, courtly lines. It was the city’s first neoclassical presence. Two centuries later, the last heir of the family passed away, and the place fell into a long period of abandon. The furnishings were sold off little by little, and only the walls and the multicolored tile floors remained. Until a few years ago, when a French entrepreneur with a passion for stories (a television producer) saw the place and was impressed. He explored, listening to the stories told by the locals. Suddenly, the palace had a new owner. Restoration work began, as the start of a long, patient process. Thanks to the collaboration of a local architect, Corrado Papa, everything – the rooms, the kitchens, the stables – has been restored to its original splendor. The floors still bear signs of wear left behind by past centuries. Unfortunately there was no documentation of the furnishings of the historic interiors, so the erudition and flair of the new owner came into play, with the aim of recreating the residence of an enlightened gentleman towards the end of the 18th century. Inspired by Visconti’s film The

Leopard, he began to fill the rooms with furniture, decorative objects, paintings and etchings purchased personally all over Europe, though all of southern Italian origin: even a fine portrait of Ferdinand, King of the Two Sicilies. In tune with this approach, there are no aesthetic contaminations with other periods or with contemporary taste. The goal was to recreate a precise atmosphere. In this sense the work of the set designer-historian had to rely on imagination, of course, but in keeping with criteria of historical exactitude. As in the case of the “cabinet de curiosités” inserted in a space with unusual “leopard” flooring. The result is a time machine, now open to the public (for info,

www.palazzocastelluccio.it). All income goes to a foundation, while the owner resides only on the private upper level.