Museo Civico di Termini Imerese

The Museo Civico Baldassare Romano of Termini Imerese occupies a historic building that once served as a hospital. Founded in 1873, it brings together archaeological finds from Himera, paintings, sculpture, inscriptions and natural-history collections.

Why it matters

The museum documents the history of Termini Imerese and the surrounding territory through collections spanning prehistory to the modern period. Greek and Roman material from Himera, including marble statues of togati, forms a central part of its archaeological holdings.

What to notice

The former hospital was founded in 1376 by Gregorio Saglimpipi and later entrusted to the Fatebenefratelli. A fifteenth-century chapel, covered in frescoes, now contains the picture gallery. The collections include a triptych attributed to Gaspare da Pesaro, works by Vincenzo La Barbera and Pietro Novelli, a Flemish Annunciation, and a sculpture model of Saint Jerome attributed to Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Other displays include a sixteenth-century Madonna and Child relief attributed to the Gagini workshop, a Kufic inscription carved on tufa blocks and two rooms devoted to sculptor Filippo Sgarlata.

Context and history

The civic museum was established in 1873 in the former hospital building. Its collections combine material from the history of Termini Imerese with finds from the ancient Greek city of Himera and later archaeological work in the region. The fifteenth-century chapel and the former hospital architecture form part of the museum’s historic setting. The museum also includes an archive and mineralogical and malacological collections.