Dimora delle Balze

L’ANNUNCIATA (ANTONELLO DA MESSINA) L’Annunciata is a painting by Antonello da Messina, which represents a fundamental work of the Italian Renaissance painting. The image of the Madonna seems almost to escape the painting in a mixture of beauty and secretiveness. The room that carries this name is 40 square metres wide and it has a private terrace.

LA SCONOSCIUTA (GIUSEPPE TORNATORE) La Sconosciuta is a 2006 film by Giuseppe Tornatore. The moving story of Irena reveals the terrible destiny of some eastern Europe girls, exploited in order to give their children up for adoption. The result of the work of the master from Bagheria is a story of an incredible fortitude, of affection and courage. Situated on the main court, the room La Sconosciuta is 35 square metres wide and it has a small terrace.

CORO SPEZZATO (ROSA BARBA) Coro Spezzato is the name of a work by the multifaceted contemporary artist Rosa Barba, born in Agrigento and raised in Berlin. Her installations examine the nature of visual arts, to probe the structure of cinematographic narrations and their relation with memory. The “Choir” is defined as “broken” because it doesn’t work like a classic choir, but it is spatially fragmented. The different voices have broken rhythms, and react to each other with questions and answers. The room which carries the name of this work is connected to the room Autoritratto (Self-portrait). It is 30 square metres wide and it has an adjacent terrace with a view on the Court.

PUNTO E VIRGOLA (EMILIO ISGRO’) “I am tortured tortured tortured by this semicolon.” (Punto e Virgola). Emilio Isgrò is a conceptual artist, writer, poet, painter, dramatist. He was born in Barcellona, Sicily, and he loves to define himself a “….deleter of all the possible existing forms”, with the aim to create new ones. The room which carries this work’s name extends to 30 square metres and it has a small adjacent terrace, with a view of the court.

AUTORITRATTO (RENATO GUTTUSO) Renato Guttuso is the master of the Italian surrealist painting. Author of many portraits, among which Giovanni Pirelli, Lucio Fontana, Alberto Moravia and Carlo Levi, he never forgot the love for Bagheria, his place of birth, leitmotif of all his works. He often portrayed himself, giving life to works characterised by vibrant energy and inner conflict. The room Autoritratto is connected to the room Coro Spezzato, it has an adjoining terrace and it is 25 square metres wide.

MAL GIOCONDO (LUIGI PIRANDELLO) Mal Giocondo (“Bad Joyful”) is a collection of verses by Luigi Pirandello. The title is an oxymoron, the two words with a dissenting meaning are put together and used as a metaphor for a love, that for the cousin Lina, which causes him joy and suffering at the same time. The room which owes its name to this work extends to about 20 square metres and it has an adjacent terrace with a view on the Court.

POESIE (SALVATORE QUASIMODO) The hermetic poet Salvatore Quasimodo was born in Modica in 1901. He soon left Sicily and it seems that it was the distance from home who brought him to dedicate himself to writing. In his numerous poems, the Island becomes the symbol of lost happiness. The difficult estrangement, however, also allowed him to become a part of one of the most exclusive circle of artists and writers, among which there was Eugenio Montale. In 1959 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. The room Poesie, with a view of the court, has an adjacent terrace and it is 35 squared metres wide.

PROIBITO (FRANK CAPRA) Proibito is the title of one of the most significative masterpieces of the Oscar-winning director Frank Capra. Born in Sicily in 1897 and migrated to America, he stages intense feelings and captivating stories, like the ones we would like our guests to experience. A warm Mediterranean blue greets the guest in the room Proibito, situated in the Manor House. It has a mezzanine and it is 35 square metres wide.

CLANDESTINI (GIOVANNI IUDICE) Clandestini is an exhibition which collects paintings and drawings of the master Giovanni Iudice, who in his works creates an “hypervision of reality”. The artist represents human discomfort, concentrating on the serious problem of illegal immigration, without excluding the sensitivity with which this theme should be faced. The room Clandestini, placed at the top of the little tower, is 25 square metres wide and has a beautiful view of the Valley, of the carob valley and of the swimming pool.

PEPPENINO (IGNAZIO PUGLISI) Peppenino is one of the precious characters of the Opera dei Pupi by Ignazio Puglisi. Defined as the “Operating Prince”, he led one of the most important Pupari families for years. After his death, the nephew Ignazio Manlio took the company lead. As a proof of the importance of the Opera dei Pupi in the Sicilian tradition, it was added in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists in 2008. The room, which takes its name from the character Peppenino, extends to about 45 square metres. It has a mezzanine and an adjacent terrace with a view of the court.

EVA (GIOVANNI VERGA) “You need to dream to achieve glory and money; I have nothing but my youth, and I need to take advantage from it…”. With his novel Eva, Giovanni Verga denounces the inability of the public to understand the refinement and the delicacy of art, and it does so by narrating the short passion between the painter Enrico Lanti and the lively dancer Eva. The room which carries the name of this work is situated in front of the manger and it has a surface of 35 square metres.