Bagheria is a town located on the Tyrrhenian coast of Sicily, a few kilometers from Palermo.
The town is known as the “city of villas”, for the numerous baroque villas that used to be the summer residences of Palermitan aristocracy in the eighteenth century. Among the most beautiful ones are Villa Valguarnera, Villa Palagonia, Villa Cattolica and Villa Spedalotto.
Built in 1715 by Prince Gravina di Palagonia, Villa Palagonia is perhaps one of the most famous of villas in Bagheria, with its grotesque statues representing a variety of deformed beings. According to some art historians, the villa was built with clear references to an eighteenth-century widespread alchemical theory, according to which the “monsters” symbolized the search for harmony. In fact, starting from the sculptures portraying the musicians, one arrives at the monstrous-looking sculptures.
