Bonocore Palace, Palace on Piazza Pretoria, Palermo, Italy

Bonocore Palace forms the edge of Piazza Pretoria, with the main course Vittorio Emanuele behind it. Its neoclassical facade, probably designed by Duke Domenico Lo Faso di Serradifalco, has cornices and capitals recently cleaned. Inside, large halls are decorated with paintings from the second half of the 19th century.

Dating from 1509, the palace was first owned by members of the Di Carlo family. In 1593 Senator Stefano Conte, a nobleman of Ligurian origin, bought it; in the early 18th century it passed to Judge Francesco Gastone, Marquis of Ingegno. His daughter Margherita, sole heir, married Francesco Antonio Lo Faso e Gaetani IV, Duke of Serradifalco, in the mid-18th century. At the end of the 19th century the banker Salvatore Buonocore acquired it, giving the building its present name.

The main floor contains seven rooms decorated with 18th-century frescoes showing cherubs, classical gods, landscapes, and seasonal scenes. These decorations reveal how wealthy families adorned their private spaces with mythological and narrative artwork.

The palace stands on Piazza Pretoria, with the Corso Vittorio Emanuele running behind it, so it is reached on foot from the old centre. The multimedia museum inside spreads over themed rooms with megascreen sequences totalling 67 minutes of projection, plus displays of ceramics, tiles, Sicilian puppets and jewellery. Allow time for the full route.

A red marble staircase with bronze wolf heads connects the ground floor, once used as stables, to the ornate main level. This architectural transition clearly marks the distinction between the service and living areas of the residence.