Il palazzo pretorio di Palermo nel XV secolo: nuove fonti archivistiche e iconografiche

This paper aims to trace the original appearance of the Palazzo Pretorio of Palermo, through archival documents and existing iconography referring in particular to before the modifications made according to Giuseppe Damiani Almeyda’s plan in the late nineteenth century. The discovery of new documents and of an unpublished drawing made before the earthquake of 1823, which damaged the structure, has allowed us to further advance the state of knowledge about the edifice and has reduced the level of approximation of the reconstruction hypothesis. In particular, it was possible to have a realistic idea of the conformation of the main facade, originally facing south on the San Cataldo plane, and of the inner courtyard. The study was therefore focussed on the "representative" side of the building, where the official pathways and the most significant rooms and halls were concentrated. Our research has revealed a series of typological and linguistic contact points with late Gothic residences of the time (in Palermo and Catalunya), while the distinctive traits used in institutional edifices followed instead a classicist code, linked perhaps to the interference in its design by Domenico Gagini who was present at the palazzo’s construction site in the 1480s.