Palazzo Drago Ajroldi di Santacolomba

The best part of my Palermo trip was the visit of Palazzo Drago Ajroldi di Santacolomba. I walked by the palace a few times barely noticing it. It doesn't look like any palaces that I have visited before and I didn't even realize that I could go inside. What caught my attention was an older gentleman sitting there drinking coffee every time I passed, so once I simply entered the building (by that time I understood that it's sort of a museum of course). He was there with a woman who was very excited to get a customer. At first, I didn't feel comfortable, but then I let go and went with the flow.

I paid for the ticket and wanted to go on the tour until I realized that the gentleman was following me. It was private tour! Their English wasn't the best, so I didn't understand that before. I thought that it would be awkward, but it turned out amazing and I'm planning to visit the Palazzo during my September visit of Palermo again as I promised him that I will come back with my husband.

You know what? My guide was the owner of the Palazzo! It is so expensive to maintain such building that with his family they decided to turn it into a museum. They live on the top floor, but the rest of the building can be visited and let me tell you that it's worth it. It is a special experience to go through a 'house' with its owner who tells you whatever you want to know about its history or history of his family. However, it's better when you speak Italian, Spanish or French as his English wasn't so good. He even tried a bit German with me. I really enjoyed it. Don't worry if you only speak English as there are signs everywhere, so you can learn about the Palazzo either way.

I could not guess the size of the building when I was standing in front of it. It's actually four times bigger than you would expect as it's a closed construction with a courtyard in the middle. There is a terrace connecting all rooms on the first floor which I found so practical. If I could ever have a Palazzo like this I would go for one with similar structure 😊

Already on the balcony I could see the luxury of the place. There is marble columns, floors, and railings. There are also antique artworks, and the entire balcony is well maintained with some plants here and there.

I could never imagine how it was inside. Each room has a name and you can learn about its history and importance of the family. For me, however, it was important to here the owner talking about his childhood, how they were running around with his siblings, what they were doing in each room, which rules they had to follow and how it was to spend the childhood in a Palazzo overall. Even though he grew up in poor luxury, he was very kind and down to earth. He answered all my questioned and I think we both had fun. He took some photos of me and we even have a selfie together.

This room is called The Assignment of Judgement and its name is inspired by the ceiling fresco.

And this is the fresco...

You know, I have never been in a castle or a palace where the family still lives, and you somehow don't realize that real people used to live in this places. It's all kind of surreal until you meet a person who lives like this.

This room is called Sala Trompe L'oeil, and I was so excited to be allowed to sit on the sofa. He actually asked me if I want him to take a photo of me on the sofa. How could I refuse? I might sound like an excited teenager, but I do love historical places and this was an amazing experience to me.

I asked him several times if the items were staged for the visitors and he insisted that it's not the case. It's exactly how they had it when they occupied these floors. It doesn't look very child-friendly to me.

Marble, frescos and expensive carpets were everywhere. I can understand why they didn't want to sell the Palazzo which is in their family from the beginning of the 18th century, and why decided to make it public for visitors.

It's been a dream to see the Murano glass chandelier there as I'm a big fan...

This is the biggest room which used to be the main room. It is called The Neoclassic room. It looks like a room from the museum in Vatican city. The walls look like they were covered with tapestry, instead they are fully painted with golden Damascus decorations on a brown background.

This room is dedicated to his female predecessors. There are paintings of his great-grandmother, his grandmother and even his mother.

At some point I didn't know what to admire first. The floors? Or maybe the walls? And what about the ceiling? And I didn't even mention the furniture and other pieces standing all over the place.

They even have The room of dishes which is fully dedicated to family porcelain treasures.

All the floor tiles are original, but these ones caught my attention as they are all hand-painted. In Switzerland we would have to get a separate insurance for them 😊

In the past, there was a small chapel too, but it was removed after the reconstruction in the 19th century. This is what has been left...

The Department room must have been a highlight for me. At some point, I forgot that we were going in a circle and almost coming to the end of the tour...

But I can't finish this without showing you the walking stick collection of his grandfather.

He was very passionate when he talked about his family, and I really enjoyed his stories. I hope that he will be there in September too. I remember he told me his age, but I can't remember how old he is. I just know that it's much older than I thought...

If you ever happen to be in Palermo make sure to visit the Palazzo. You will not regret it.

Thank you for reading and until next time...