Palazzo degli Elefanti
Encyclopedia
Palazzo degli Elefanti is a historical building in Catania
, Sicily
, southern Italy
. It currently houses the city's Town Hall.
The palace, located on the northern side of the Cathedral square, was begun in 1696 after the devastating earthquake of 1693
, its original designed having been commissioned to Giovan Battista Longobardo. The eastern, southern, and western façades were however designed at a later stage by Giovan Battista Vaccarini, while the northern one was by Carmelo Battaglia.
The staircase opening to the inner court with four porticoes was added in the late 18th century by Stefano Ittar
. In the second floor are paintings by the Sicilian artist Giuseppe Sciuti.
Catania
Catania is an Italian city on the east coast of Sicily facing the Ionian Sea, between Messina and Syracuse. It is the capital of the homonymous province, and with 298,957 inhabitants it is the second-largest city in Sicily and the tenth in Italy.Catania is known to have a seismic history and...
, Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
, southern Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. It currently houses the city's Town Hall.
The palace, located on the northern side of the Cathedral square, was begun in 1696 after the devastating earthquake of 1693
1693 Sicily earthquake
The 1693 Sicily earthquake refers to a powerful earthquake that struck parts of southern Italy, notably Sicily, Calabria and Malta on January 11, 1693 around 9 pm local time. This earthquake was preceded by a damaging foreshock on January 9th...
, its original designed having been commissioned to Giovan Battista Longobardo. The eastern, southern, and western façades were however designed at a later stage by Giovan Battista Vaccarini, while the northern one was by Carmelo Battaglia.
The staircase opening to the inner court with four porticoes was added in the late 18th century by Stefano Ittar
Stefano Ittar
Stefano Ittar was a Polish-Italian architect.-Biography:Ittar was born in Ovruch , where his father, a member of one of Italy's aristocratic families the Guidone de Hittar, had fled following a disagreement with the Grand Duke of Tuscany.While Ittar was still young his family moved to Rome, where...
. In the second floor are paintings by the Sicilian artist Giuseppe Sciuti.