Palazzo Butera, Baroque palace in Kalsa district, Palermo, Italy

Palazzo Butera is a Baroque palace in Palermo's Kalsa district that rises along the Mediterranean Sea, dominated by a wide terrace called Passeggiata delle Cattive, built upon former city walls. The building now houses contemporary art, ancient paintings, porcelain, and glass collections assembled by the Valsecchi family.

In 1692 Girolamo Branciforte, Marquess of Martini, bought the site of the Imperatore family's house and built a small casino there. His son Ercole Michele, who married into the Prince of Butera title in 1718, had Giacomo Amato enlarge it; a balustrade topped the roofline by 1735. A fire in 1759 destroyed much of the palace, and the Moncada palace next door was absorbed in 1760 to create a ballroom.

The interior displays marble staircases bearing the Branciforte family coat of arms, accompanied by frescoes from artists Gioacchino Martorana and Olivio Sozzi. The palace became a hub for the family's cultural pursuits and later reflected the Valsecchi family's passion for collecting art, which shaped the way people experience the rooms today.

The palace reopened to the public in spring 2021, and the restored rooms now serve as exhibition spaces for the Valsecchi collection. Access is from Via Butera on the land side, while the seaward front opens onto the Passeggiata delle Cattive above the Foro Italico. Allow time for both the galleries and the terrace over the Gulf of Palermo.

In 1784, a Montgolfier-type hot air balloon was released from the palace terrace, witnessed by Prince Ercole Michele Branciforte, an enthusiast of the new sciences. The same prince hosted Goethe, Hackert, Denon, Houel and Münter here.