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At the back of Via Roma The archeological museum was once a sixteenth century convent of The compagnia di San Filippo Neri. It has a wonderful collection of artefacts, Two of the cloisters house maritime objects and things pulled from the sea of the island's coast. There is an incredible sculpture of a giant Zeus on his throne. There are a number of stone sculptures reassembled from various temple sites such as Himera and Selinunte. In fact there is an entire room, the Salone di Selinunte dedicted to these finds that include the metopes of Selinunte and panels depicting mythological scenes. There are works that date back to the fifth century B.C. with Perseus beheading the Medusa with a sword. Another interesting museum lies on the edge of a park north of Piazza Castelnuovo, La Favorita. The Museo Etnografico Pitrč is the decisive exhibition of Sicilian culture and folklore on the island. You will find a wealth of brightly painted carts boasting scenes of the Paladins, a reconstructed puppet theatre and dozens of the expressive puppets and scenery backdrops. Other Sicilian artefacts include terracotta figures, dolls and games, bicycles, and painted masks. If you are really interested in a traditional form of entertainment the go to Via Butera for the definitive Museo delle Marionette, that houses the complete collection of puppets, screens and painted scenery in Palermo. Puppet theatre was a traditional Sicilian entertainment although it is now only staged a a tourist attraction. The stories focus on the exploits of the hero Orlando, the dashing knight who fought against the Saracen invaders, finishing in a great battle. In Via Alloro at the seaward end, is the Palazzo Abatellis, a fifteenth-century palace that has become Sicily's Galleria Regionale or regional gallery displaying a stunning medieval art collection. Downstairs you will find sculpture when you have overcome the powerful fifteenth century fresco of the Triumph of Death that fills the entire wall. The artist is unknown although he is considered to have been Flemish who cast Death as a skeletal archer riding a rakish horse that tramples the victims of the archer's arrows. The other masterpiece on the ground floor is the fifteenth-century white marble bust sculpture by Francesco Laurana of Eleonora of Aragon. Upstairs are the paintings, including a fourteenth-century Byzantine mosaic of the Madonna and Child, and vivid ecclesiastic paintings of the coronation of the Virgin. There is also a collection of works by Antonello da Messina featuring the Annunciation. |