Ragusa

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

porzione di palazzoPalazzo La Rocca was built not far from the Cathedral of San Giorgio (St. George), on Via Capitano Bocchieri in the old Ibla. Today it is the head office of the Provincial Tourist Board and no longer the home of wealthy aristocrats.
The La Rocca family, in particular Don Saverio La Rocca, Baron of Sant’Ippolito, commissioned the new palace around 1765. The building has an irregular rectangular plan and was built according to the fashion of the time, in late Baroque style.
The façade is the main feature on the street, with eight balconies on the first storey, a long cornice at the top and an entrance portal in the centre between two pilasters .

Palazzo La Rocca
Palazzo La Rocca was built in the old Ibla. The building is characterized by the late Baroque style. The facade is therefore the absolute protagonist of the street with eight balconies on the first floor and is completed in the upper part by a long ledge. In the central part you recognize the access portal located between two pilasters. The corbels of Palazzo La Rocca are positioned under the balconies, three for each, as supports. Each balcony tells a different story. From right to left are: the cherubim balcony; the second and third are dedicated to music; the fourth is the representation of a woman who takes care of her child; follows the balcony above the very simple entrance door, is adorned with a central shell and vegetable decorations in the side shelves; the sixth is the balcony of the Cupini, three pairs of putti tied in a tender embrace; the seventh has a Telamone that seems to support all the weight of the balcony alone; The last one is the Horseman.

scala pietra peceThe new building has a ground floor, a first floor, an attic (loft) and a basement.
Today in the basement area you can still admire some of the remains of the walls and arcades of the family’s old properties, on top of which the new palace was built.
From the large entrance door you enter an expansive atrium where you can admire the beautiful pietra pece staircase.
The interior still features 18th-century furnishings, doors and flooring in pietra pece and maiolica .

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