11. Sortino Trono Palace

The palace overlooks Piazza “degli Archi” (Piazza della Repubblica) and Via del Mercato, standing out in the panorama of Ibla, so much so that it is visible even from the churchyard of Santa Maria delle Scale (Fig. a).
It is accessed by a flight of steps on Via del Mercato that reaches the space in front of the building.
The position of the palace’s entrance door is not symmetrical, as it is made at the right end of the façade, thus disobeying the symmetry criteria typical of the Baroque. This suggests that the construction of the building had been interrupted.
Built at the end of the 18th century, it has two levels distinguished by a stone string-course (Fig. b) on which the curved balconies are set, supported by five stone corbels, sculpted with plant motifs and railings in wrought iron in the shape of a goose chest . The entrance portal is slightly convex with bi-chromatic jambs due to the alternation of white limestone and pitchstone, supporting a cornice atop which the upper balcony is situated (Fig. c). In the friezes of the window frames, one glimpses the Rococo taste of the arabesque curlicues of the late Baroque (Fig. d).
The entrance to the palace is on the street behind, Via Joppolo, and leads into a hallway paved in “pietra pece”. From this room begins a three-flight staircase that leads to the first floor, the main level, characterised by the reception halls, placed in succession (Fig. e), with “pietra pece” floors with geometric decorations (Fig. f)