The Steri, the historical site of Palermo University: past, present, future

Abstract

The aim of the paper is to present the study carried out by the art historian Ferdinando Bologna on the painted ceiling of the Steri in Palermo in an informative but less formal way, so as to make it more accessible and, therefore, more enjoyable for a wider audience of enthusiasts and not just experts of the subject. The study examines a monument of exceptional importance for the city of Palermo, highlighting not only the nature of its extraordinary repertoire of late medieval fables, but also its significance as a document of important historical, iconographic, documentary and literary value. It also underlines what the Steri represents for Palermo University as a symbol of its roots in the city context and of the historical-evolutionary continuity of Sicilian society. The work concludes with a brief reference to the importance that the University of Palermo has assumed in the little more than two hundred years since its establishment, transforming itself from a cultural institution for the few, to a symbol of a culture open to all, dynamically projected towards a future of growth and innovation.