One of Palermo's grandest aristocratic palaces is now an impressive, multi-faceted cultural centre. One-hour guided tours (email ahead for English-language tours) depart every 30 minutes and take in the Fondazione Sicilia Library, crowned by Ignazio Moncada di Paternò's bold contemporary fresco, as well as the Monte di Santa Rosalia, a spectacular, timber-framed exhibition space that houses an important collection of traditional Sicilian pupi (puppets). The ground-floor archaeological collection claims over 4750 objects, many unearthed at the ruins of Selinunte.
The palazzo – restored by the late Italian architect Gae Aulenti – also houses a small, interesting collection of majolica spanning from the 15th to 20th centuries.
