Agrigento, the Museum of the City will be born in the former College of the Philippine Fathers

Theformer College of the Philippine Fathers on Via Atenea, a historic artery in downtown, will become the Museum of the City of Agrigento. The latter will tell the story of the Sicilian city, from its foundation dating back 2,600 years to the present day.

In order to make it suitable for hosting a museum venue, the building will undergo extraordinary maintenance, special equipment will be purchased, innovative accessibility services will be implemented, and the interior furnishings will be overhauled. The planned work will be possible thanks to funding from the 2014-2020 ERDF OP and will require a total cost of 1 million euros. In the Urban Agenda forecasts, the building is part of the Agrigento Cultural Pole.

Crucial to the realization of the project is the collaboration between the Municipality of Agrigento and theSpecial Planning Office of the Presidency of the Sicilian Region. In fact, the latter was involved in the design phases, work direction, safety coordination, functional adaptation and provision of services for the building that housed the College of the Philippine Fathers. The executive design phase testifies to the Mosumeci government’s willingness to use all available resources to promote the area through the recovery of its monumental heritage.

“The intervention is part of the activity of support and technical collaboration to the municipalities desired by the President of the Sicilian Region Nello Musumeci and the Regional Councillor for Cultural Heritage and Sicilian Identity Alberto Samonà,” said Leonardo Santoro, director of the Special Planning Office. “The goal is the full use of resources related to the enhancement of the regional cultural heritage. In this specific case, it is a modality of active collaboration between entities that has already been successfully tested and is part of a broader scenario of valorization and networking of the regional heritage,” he concluded.

There will be a strong focus ontechnological innovation, as digital tools will be used for immersive and interactive modes.

Designed by Fra’ Simone Mancuso, the building has four levels and features a wide entrance staircase framed by the 18th-century portal in local limestone. It became the property of the municipality in 1860, and over the years the College has also housed a small natural history museum, an ossevatory and a library. Inside are currently sculptures and drawings by artists, such as Francesco Lojacono, Giambecchina, Raffaello Politi and Tommaso Santella, donated to the city and kept here.

Agrigento, the Museum of the City will be born in the former College of the Philippine Fathers

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