Palazzo Riccio di Morana
An aristocratic palace with an elaborate sculptural façade.
Palazzo Riccio di Morana is a historic aristocratic residence in Trapani, distinguished by its eighteenth-century façade designed by the architect Andrea Gigante.
Key facts
Site type:
Comune:
Palazzo
District:
Historic centre
Palazzo Riccio di Morana stands on Via Garibaldi, formerly known as Rua Nuova, a street lined with aristocratic residences in Trapani's historic centre. The palace has earlier origins, but its present architectural character owes much to an eighteenth-century remodelling of the façade by Andrea Gigante (1731–1787), a Trapani-born architect who trained under Giovanni Biagio Amico and subsequently worked extensively in Palermo.
The façade combines classical architectural elements with an elaborate sculptural programme celebrating the family's lineage and status. A long wrought-iron balcony extends across the principal floor, while decorative figures occupy niches and architectural recesses between the windows. Above, statues crown the roofline and a large sculptural composition rises over the central section.
An account written in 1812 by the Augustinian friar Benigno da Santa Caterina describes the palace as formerly belonging to Giacomo Riccio and subsequently to Antonino Venuti. Benigno attributed its façade to Gigante and recorded allegorical figures, royal busts and heraldic emblems associated with the Riccio family.
The palace later passed through other ownership before becoming part of Trapani's provincial administration. Today it serves as a representative headquarters of the Libero Consorzio Comunale di Trapani, the authority that succeeded the former Province.
Photo: Melvyn Longhurst, Alamy
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The sculptures of the façade
Benigno da Santa Caterina's description of 1812 provides a detailed account of the façade's original decorative programme.
He identified four allegorical figures: Constancy (Costanza) and Fortitude (Fortezza) near the entrance, and Wealth (Ricchezza) and Nobility (Nobiltà) associated with the principal balcony. Wealth was depicted distributing money, while Nobility displayed the family's coat of arms.
Above these figures were busts identified as King Martin and King Charles. Benigno associated them with privileges traditionally granted to the family, including the right to mint a quantity of silver and the granting of its heraldic arms. These claims are part of his historical account and have not been independently verified.
He also described putti decorating the balconies, a large heraldic shield incorporating an eagle and a hedgehog (riccio), and statues placed above the upper architectural elements.
Much of the façade's sculptural decoration remains visible, although identifying individual surviving figures would require closer examination.
Andrea Gigante and the eighteenth-century façade
Andrea Gigante, also known as Giganti, was born in Trapani in 1731. He studied under Giovanni Biagio Amico before establishing his career in Palermo, where his commissions included work on aristocratic palaces and villas.
His architectural language developed from the late Baroque towards neoclassicism during the second half of the eighteenth century.
Art historian Maria Giuffrè identifies the façade of Palazzo Riccio di Morana among Gigante's projects. The precise date of the palace's remodelling has not been established through the sources examined here.
The attribution therefore concerns the palace's façade rather than necessarily the construction of the entire building.
The Riccio family and later ownership
The palace's name reflects its association with the Morana and Riccio families. It belonged successively to the Morana-Barlotta, Riccio and Morana, and Venuti families, while the Riccio family's heraldic emblems became a prominent feature of its architectural decoration.
Archival records held by the Italian Ministry of Culture document the Riccio family's extensive property interests, including the baronies of Sant'Anna and Arcudaci, rights associated with Trapani's fish market and interests in the Salina di Reda. These holdings suggest that landed property and commercial rights contributed to the family's wealth, although their relative importance during the eighteenth century is uncertain.
By 1812, the building was occupied by Antonino Venuti. Benigno da Santa Caterina specifically praised the improvements made to its interior rooms under the Venuti family.
The palace subsequently passed into other hands before its acquisition for provincial use. Its history illustrates the adaptation of Trapani's former aristocratic residences to public and administrative functions.
Interior decoration
The palace contains reception rooms with decorative ceilings, stucco work and historic furnishings.
Among its most significant artworks is a fresco by the Trapani-born painter Domenico La Bruna (1699–1763), depicting Apollo with his lyre, seated on a chariot. The painting, which has been partly overpainted, illustrates the movement towards neoclassicism in La Bruna's later work.
The provincial authority identifies several reception rooms, including the Sala Rossa and Sala di Apollo, and records a Murano-glass chandelier among the palace's historic furnishings.
Sources & further reading
The following sources document the palace's eighteenth-century façade, its historical sculptural programme, its association with the Riccio and Venuti families, and its later institutional use.