Loggiato Verga Loggiato Verga is our new luxury accommodation, consisting of the Appartamento dello Stemma, available from April 2023, and two suites, available from April 2024. La struttura si trova nel cuore storico di Ortigia, all’interno del celebre Palazzo Bonanno, in via della Maestranza 33.
It is an elegant eighteenth-century palace in Baroque style, built between the end of the seventeenth century and the beginning of the eighteenth by the homonymous Bonanno family of Linguaglossa and Landolina, an aristocratic feudal family of Belvedere and the neighboring districts.
The palace was built on the remains of what rsurvived after the terrible earthquake of 1693, which destroyed most of the palaces and the ancient medieval "Swabian houses" of Via della Maestranza, as well as many Sicilian cities.
The date of 1762 can be read on the arch of the door, the date on which the famous architect Luciano Alì was entrusted with its complete reconstruction.
On the arch there is also the coat of arms of the Bonanno family and its motto: Neque sol per diem neque luna per noctem, taken from the Book of Psalms - n. 121, 5/6: (The Lord is at your right hand). Neither the sun by day, nor the moon by night (they will be able to hit you).
The family coat of arms is carved in high relief, it contains a cat inside the shield while a Phoenix is depicted on the top, rising from the flames.
A coat of arms with the date 1804 in the courtyard indicates the last cycle of transformation of the building.
Palazzo Bonanno Landolina has hosted several illustrious personalities throughout its history, including Vittorio Amedeo II of Savoy, King of Sicily, and the German Emperor William II Hohenzollern.
In 1939 the building was bought by Giuseppina and Vito Verga, and in 1943 it suffered significant damage following the bombings of the Second World War. However, it was later rebuilt faithfully to the original drawings.
Despite having kept the name of Palazzo Bonnanno, today this is the property of the Verga-Siena heirs who, thanks to a long and careful restoration work, have brought the palace back to its former glory.
The Stemma apartment and the suites are located in the east wing, on the first floor and enjoy the ancient loggiato which constitutes one of the most important areas of the building, which has remained architecturally intact and preserved.
LOCATION
Via della Maestranza is still today the most dynamic and active area of Ortigia and has maintained the structural and functional conditions of its architecture, without suffering the partitions and transformations that have upset many other areas.
The Maestranza is the most representative, elegant and scenic area of the island, with the baroque face of its noble buildings and the urban composition that made it the main axis. Its importance is due to its function as an axis of urban connection from east to west, followed by its subsequent function as a residential road with mainly noble buildings. The architecture features a baroque character, starting with the reconstruction after the earthquake, rich in scenic effects, majestic shapes and imaginative decorations.
Visiting Via della Maestranza on foot, with your eyes looking high, means letting yourself be captivated by the emotions and sensations of an ancient era.
