The Palazzo del Monte di Pietà is a palace in

Messina Messina (, also , ) is a harbour city and the capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of more than 219,000 inhabitants in ...

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

, located on via XXIV Maggio (formerly "via dei Monasteri"). It was built in 1616 for the Arciconfraternita degli Azzurri to designs of

Natale Masuccio Natale Masuccio (between 1561 and 1568 – August 1619), also known as Mesuccio or Tomasucci, was an Italian architect and Jesuit. He is regarded as one of the most important architects in Sicily during the transition between Mannerism and Baro ...

. The building was severely damaged during the earthquake of 1908.

History

The

mount of piety A mount of piety is an institutional pawnbroker run as a charitable organization, charity in Europe from Renaissance times until today. Similar institutions were established in the colonies of Catholic countries; the Mexican Nacional Monte de Pie ...

of Messina was founded in 1581 by the Arciconfraternita degli Azzurri, and it was built on the ruins of a church dedicated to St. Basil. The present building began to be built in 1616 to designs of the architect

. The structure originally had a single floor. The building was modified in 1741 with the addition of a first floor, a bell tower and a staircase. These were built to designs of the architect Antonino Basile. A fountain decorated with a statue of Abundance, which was the work of , was built in the middle of the staircase. The structure was damaged during the earthquake of 1783 and that of 1908. The building's upper floor was largely destroyed during the latter earthquake. The structure was further damaged by

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

bombings. Restoration of the building began in 1979, and it is now used for cultural purposes.

Architecture

The Palazzo del Monte di Pietà is built in the Mannerist style. The ground floor has a central rusticated portal topped by a broken

pediment Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds. A pedimen ...

, flanked by two windows on each side. The windows are topped by triangular pediments, and they are separated by

niche Niche may refer to: Science *Developmental niche, a concept for understanding the cultural context of child development *Ecological niche, a term describing the relational position of an organism's species *Niche differentiation, in ecology, the ...

s. The first floor of the building, which was constructed in the 18th century, had an open balcony flanked by two windows on each side. The balcony and the lower parts of the windows can still be seen, but the rest of the floor was destroyed in the 1908 earthquake. The building contains a large vaulted hall which opens into a

courtyard A courtyard or court is a circumscribed area, often surrounded by a building or complex, that is open to the sky. Courtyards are common elements in both Western and Eastern building patterns and have been used by both ancient and contemporary ...

. This leads to the 18th-century monumental staircase, leading to the Church of Santa Maria della Pietà. Only part of the façade of the church has survived; the building itself was destroyed during the 1908 earthquake.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Palazzo del Monte di Pieta (Messina) Buildings and structures in Messina Monte di Pieta Messina

Mannerist architecture in Italy Ruins in Italy