Palazzo Steripinto - Sciacca

The palace was built in 1501 by Antonio Noceto, nephew of the famous botanist Gerardo Noceto (1475-1545).

It is one of the oldest buildings in the town of Sciacca and constitutes one of the most interesting examples of Plateresque art in Sicily , in which structural and morphological elements blend with late Catalan Gothic and Renaissance of Italian origin.

The name Steripinto is derived from the conflation of the noun hosterium, a name common to other medieval palaces in Sicily, meaning fortified palace , and the past participle pictum, literally painted , but which can also be translated as ornate.

The facade is characterized by a dense series of diamond-shaped bluestones with a beautiful decorative effect. The two marble columns placed in the two corners on the sides of the facade are a graceful note, perhaps taken from older demolished buildings. The coat of arms in the center of the lunette, above the portal, belongs to the Lucchesi Palli family, to whom the building became the property through marriage. However , the coat of arms on the capitals of the columns of the stained glass windows is that of the Noceto family (whose symbol is the walnut tree).

The interior, which has been heavily renovated over the centuries, still has a beautiful groin vault with ribs, supported by robust pointed arches.
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Author: Willem Vandenameele