The design of the palace is perhaps attributed to Carlo d’Aprile, a renowned architect of the Palermo Senate, but the construction works were supervised by a Capuchin friar, Brother Pietro of Genoa. The first stone was laid in the spring of 1651.
The project involved demolishing the previous Moncada residence and replacing it with a new and much larger building. To this end, an entire block of small houses was demolished, and the rear side of the new palace was built in its place. Only after completing this first section was the front part, facing the Strada Grande, to be constructed.
Throughout the completed wing, fine stone carvings were executed: large stone corbels were sculpted to support the long balcony encircling the main floor, decorated with anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figures, as well as all the external and internal window and door frames.
However, Prince Luigi Guglielmo’s involvement in an anti-Spanish conspiracy led to his exile from Sicily, causing first a slowdown and eventually the suspension of the works.
Today, the restored palace, reopened to the public, serves as a venue for exhibitions, cultural events, and concerts. On the mezzanine floor is the museum dedicated to Michele Tripisciano. The four exhibition halls trace the artistic and human journey of the sculptor - from his youthful works to his mature creations, from studies for his great Roman monuments, such as the statue of Gioachino Belli in the square of the same name in Trastevere, Rome, to small family-themed sketches.
It is a journey through beauty, to be taken with attentive eyes, in order to grasp the expressive intensity of the soul that Michele Tripisciano was able to infuse into inert matter.