Palermo's Academy of Fine Arts acquires former Sacro Cuore complex for new Arts Campus
The Accademia di Belle Arti di Palermo has secured the former Sacro Cuore institute, located near Zisa castle, to establish a new Arts Campus. This property spans 11,600 square meters and includes a garden of 9,500 square meters, acquired for €1.7 million through Cassa depositi e prestiti. The new campus aims to unify activities from Palazzo Fernandez, Palazzo Santa Rosalia, and leased areas at Cantieri culturali alla Zisa. Director Umberto De Paola described the acquisition as a major real estate initiative within the AFAM system. President Antonella Purpura emphasized that it will accommodate creative business incubators. The site, originally Villa Pignatelli for Prince Ettore Pignatelli Tagliavia Aragona Cortés, has remained vacant since the closure of the Sisters of the Sacred Heart school decades ago.
Key facts
- Accademia di Belle Arti di Palermo acquired ex-Sacro Cuore institute for new Arts Campus
- Campus measures 11,600 square meters with a 9,500-square-meter garden
- Purchase price: €1.7 million, funded through Cassa depositi e prestiti
- Campus will host all theoretical classes, workshops, library, gipsoteca, historical archive, and restoration spaces
- Current facilities at Palazzo Fernandez, Palazzo Santa Rosalia, and Cantieri culturali alla Zisa are insufficient
- Director Umberto De Paola called it one of the most important real estate operations in the AFAM system
- President Antonella Purpura announced creative business incubators for graduates
- Complex originally Villa Pignatelli, built late 18th-early 19th century for Prince Ettore Pignatelli Tagliavia Aragona Cortés
Entities
Artists
- Paolo Caccianiga
Institutions
- Accademia di Belle Arti di Palermo
- Cassa depositi e prestiti
- AFAM
- Galleria d’Arte Moderna di Palermo
- Regia Università
- Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Locations
- Palermo
- Italy
- Zisa
- Palazzo Fernandez
- Palazzo Santa Rosalia
- Cantieri culturali alla Zisa
- Villa Pignatelli