(June 16, 2017) The Italian Institute of Culture of Paris commemorates Palermo and its many facets with a double exhibition inaugurated in recent days: "Palermo arabo-normanna" by Francesco Ferla and "Capanne" by Angelo Cirrincione. Antithetical and fascinating city, where popular neighborhoods and modern buildings blend with the architectural jewels of the era of Norman domination in Sicily (1130-1194), Palermo irresistibly attracts the look of photographers. The first exhibition is dedicated to the nine monuments of the Arab-Norman Palermo and the cathedrals of Cefalù and Monreale (on the northern coast of Sicily), enrolled in the Unesco World Heritage in 2015, which will revive in the photographs of architect Francesco Ferla. Popular Palermo, however, will be the protagonist of the "Capanne" series by Palermo photographer, Angelo Cirrincione, created between 2008 and 2013 in Mondello, a village made of holiday homes 7 km from the city center. There every house is provided with a kind of beach extension, which does not prove to be a simple changing room but, indeed, a real hut, equipped as a mini-apartment. The double show will remain open to the public until June 30, according to opening hours of the Institute of Culture. (Red)

ABOUT / THE ICC

The Italian Cultural Institute in Paris is hosted in a prestigious "hôtel particulier" of the late 1800s, in the heart of Faubourg Saint-Germain, between rue de Varenne, Rue de Grenelle and rue du Bac. Built by architect Legrand between 1776 and 1792, was home to Monsieur de Talleyrand and to the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 1794 to 1821. Its splendid halls have seen passage of illustrious figures from Napoleon to Madame de Staël, from Chateaubriand to the poet Arnault. The important restoration that it was subjected to between 1992 and 1993 has returned the Hôtel de Galliffet to its ancient splendor. Acquired by the Italian State in 1909, the Hôtel de Galliffet first hosted the Embassy, then the Consulate General of Italy and finally, in 1962, the Italian Institute of Culture.