The 1968
Belice earthquake
further compromised the building’s already precarious state of preservation, worsening its distress until 13 October 1971, the day of the resounding collapse of half the building’s wing. 
The scandal was enormous and cultural mobilisation soon called for a serious recovery and restoration project to be launched. The project was entrusted to Professor Giuseppe Caronia, a lecturer at the Faculty of Architecture in Palermo, who was assisted by a group of specialists and experts. Thus began the process of this complex and articulated project regarding the building’s state of abandonment, worsened by the collapse that had caused it to lose significant parts of its structure and apparatus.
