Palazzo della Vicaria
Three centuries of prison history in Trapani
The Palazzo della Vicaria in Trapani is a former judicial prison, established in 1655 and distinguished by four monumental male figures on its façade.
Key facts
Site type:
Comune:
Palazzo, Former prison
District:
Historic centre
The Palazzo della Vicaria, also known as the former San Francesco Prison (ex Carcere San Francesco), stands on Via San Francesco d'Assisi in Trapani's historic centre. The complex developed from several earlier properties and was first used as a prison in 1655, beginning more than three centuries of service as one of the city's principal places of detention.
The property was associated with the Augustinian friars, who acquired ownership in the late seventeenth century. During the nineteenth century, the prison underwent substantial reconstruction and enlargement, traditionally attributed to an architect named La Bruna, whose identity remains uncertain. Its most distinctive architectural feature is the group of four monumental telamons — sculpted male figures appearing to support the architectural elements above the main entrance. The building also contains an internal courtyard, around which the prison accommodation and service rooms were arranged.
The Vicaria remained in use until 1965, when its prisoners were transferred to the new San Giuliano prison in the Casa Santa district of Erice. The new facility also replaced the prison at the Castello della Colombaia.
Following its closure, the building was adapted for cultural purposes. From 2009, it housed exhibitions by La Salerniana, the contemporary art association previously based at the Church of San Carlo in Erice. The association left the building in 2022, and its subsequent use has been subject to changing management arrangements.
Photo: Stefano Ravera, Alamy
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Origins and architectural development
The Vicaria developed within a densely built part of Trapani close to the historic waterfront. The site originally comprised separate houses, workshops, warehouses and gardens, which were gradually incorporated into the prison complex.
In 1647, Ottavio and Michela Bosco established an endowment benefiting the Augustinian friars. Their heirs subsequently leased the property for use as a prison in 1655, and ownership passed to the Augustinians in 1699.
The building's development also reflects changes in the surrounding urban landscape. Behind the complex once stood the Porta di Sant'Antonio di lu portu, a gateway connected to the harbour by a staircase known as the Tumminilla. Neither survives.
The prison underwent extensive alterations during the nineteenth century, including the incorporation of neighbouring properties and the reorganisation of its internal accommodation. Works beginning around 1820 are traditionally associated with an architect named La Bruna, although his identity and the precise extent of his contribution remain uncertain.
The façade on Via San Francesco d'Assisi is distinguished by four large telamons made from stuccoed tufa. Although the façade presents a relatively unified architectural composition, the date of these figures has not been securely established.
Life inside the Vicaria
Giuseppe Romano's history of Trapani's prisons provides a detailed account of the Vicaria's internal organisation and the conditions experienced by its inmates.
Following nineteenth-century reconstruction, the ground floor accommodated judicial offices, guards and storage areas. Women and children were housed on the first floor, while male prisoners occupied the second floor. An internal courtyard of approximately 200 square metres provided space for exercise.
The cells were often overcrowded and poorly equipped. Prisoners slept on raised brick platforms covered with straw, while the stone or brick floors were designed to discourage escape by tunnelling. Communal sleeping rooms bore the names of saints, including Sant'Alberto and San Francesco.
Conditions gradually changed during the twentieth century. By 1958, prisoners were employed in activities including carpentry, tailoring, shoemaking and model-ship construction. Educational provision included elementary classes for female prisoners, and the prison also possessed a library.
The prison also left its mark on local language. In Trapanese dialect, the word vicarioto, derived from Vicaria, came to describe a delinquent or troublemaker. It could also be used jokingly or affectionately for a mischievous child, reflecting how deeply the prison had become embedded in the city's popular culture.
From prison to contemporary art
Following the closure of the prison, the Vicaria eventually became a venue for cultural activities and contemporary art exhibitions.
In December 2009, the association La Salerniana inaugurated its new premises in the building with Take the Space, an exhibition curated by Patrizia Ferri under the artistic direction of Michele Cossyro.
La Salerniana had previously been based at the Church of San Carlo in Erice, where it had developed a collection of modern and contemporary art. Its move to the Vicaria brought the collection into Trapani's historic centre.
The collection comprised more than 160 works of modern and contemporary art, dating from the 1950s onwards and assembled largely through donations from the artists themselves. It included works by prominent figures in postwar Italian art, among them Trapani-born Carla Accardi, sculptor Pietro Consagra, Antonio Sanfilippo, Giorgio Griffa and Fabio Mauri. Developed over several decades under the artistic direction of Michele Cossyro, the collection reflected La Salerniana's connections with the wider Italian contemporary art movement.
The association remained at the Vicaria until 2022, when it was required to leave following changes to the building's management. The collection subsequently remained without a permanent exhibition home.
The building has continued to be associated with cultural and educational initiatives, although its present use and future arrangements remain uncertain.
Sources & further reading
The history of the Palazzo della Vicaria is documented through architectural surveys, local historical research and studies of Trapani's prison system. Together, these sources trace the building's development, its three centuries as a prison and its later adaptation for cultural activities.