Royal Palace of Ficuzza, Neoclassical hunting palace in Corleone, Italy

The Royal Palace of Ficuzza is a two-story neoclassical hunting lodge with a long, symmetrical facade in light tan stone, topped by a low-pitched tiled roof with small square chimneys and dormer blocks. A round-arched central doorway carries a balcony, and rectangular windows with green shutters are spaced evenly across both stories. A square clock tower with a white clock face rises at the far right end, and the roofline once carried sculptures of Pan, Diana and the Bourbon coat of arms.

Ferdinand III of Sicily commissioned the hunting lodge in 1799; work began in 1802 under Carlo Chenchi, with Giuseppe Venanzio Marvuglia modifying the design, and was completed in 1807. Ferdinand lived there continuously from 1810 to 1813. In 1871 the palace and its wood passed to the Italian Kingdom's forest administration, and today the Sicilian Regional Forestry Corps manages it.

Since 3 August 2013 the palace has housed the Museo multimediale del bosco di Ficuzza, established by the Sicilian Region. Its displays cover the biodiversity of the Bosco della Ficuzza and the stay of Ferdinand III of Bourbon at Ficuzza. The building reopened to the public in April 2009.

Guided tours are available to explore the palace rooms and learn about its history and current use as a museum. The location is accessible by car, and plan to spend several hours here if you want to see the exhibits and walk through all the chambers.

The original furniture was destroyed during the uprisings of 1820-21, not in World War II. Occupying armies in the 1940s did loot the building, which had fallen into disuse after the Bourbons. Look for the Egyptian-style columns inside, a decorative flourish at odds with the austere facade.