Description
Palazzo Calapaj-d'Alcontres is an 18th-century noble residence on Via San Giacomo, a stone's throw from Messina Cathedral. It is worth a stop because it is one of the very few palaces to survive the 1908 earthquake and the demolitions that followed it.
It is also the only surviving example in the city of a home of the Messina aristocracy from that era. The façade has three storeys, with the central floor given the most emphasis and windows adorned with small festoons and acroteria, gracefully designed by an architect whose name has been lost.
Through the wrought-iron gate you can glimpse the inner courtyard, where horses and carriages once came in, and the theatrical staircase that rises to the upper floors.
The palace is still privately lived in and is admired from the street: an intact façade of pre-1908 Messina, in a historic centre almost entirely rebuilt in the 20th century.
It is also the only surviving example in the city of a home of the Messina aristocracy from that era. The façade has three storeys, with the central floor given the most emphasis and windows adorned with small festoons and acroteria, gracefully designed by an architect whose name has been lost.
Through the wrought-iron gate you can glimpse the inner courtyard, where horses and carriages once came in, and the theatrical staircase that rises to the upper floors.
The palace is still privately lived in and is admired from the street: an intact façade of pre-1908 Messina, in a historic centre almost entirely rebuilt in the 20th century.