The history of the museum
The original nucleus of the Civic Museum of Termini is composed by the archaeological collection pres

erved in the town's Senatorial Palace. Since the late 16th century, some statues, inscriptions and architectonic elements, that were recovered during the past years, were progressively transferred to the Town Hall.
Here an archaeological collection was started and it was settled in front of the palace, where Houel, Denon and other travellers from the 18th and 19th centuries were able to admire it. In 1846-47, the archaeologist and scholar from Termini, Baldassare Romano, who was also correspondent for the Antiquities and Arts Commission of Sicily, organised and arranged the collection inside the palace, gathering together other epigraphs and items dispersed in various public buildings or in the hands of private families. Romano himself enriched the public collection with the finds from the archaeological excavations he was directing, especially from the town's western necropolis, where in 1835 he had discovered half a dozen tombs dating from the late Hellenistic or early imperial period.
A proper museum, though, was realised only in 1873, on the initiative of Ignazio De Michele and Saverio Ciofalo, who was for many years, until the beginning of the century, deputy of the museum and honorary inspector of the Antiquities. The collection preserved in the Town Hall, together with other archaeological finds stored in the Liciniana Library or belonging to private properties (A. Gargotta, I. De Michele), was exposed in the rooms of the former hospital of the S. Trinità (Fatebenefratelli), where two other sections, historic-artistic and naturalistic, were also created. According to the conception current in the age of positivism, the Civic Museum had to show the different aspects of the town and its territory, following a unitary research program, and therefore join together artistic collections and scientific collections.

The archaeological collection
Since the beginning the archaeological section was divided in four under-sections. The Pre-historic section preserves stone items from the Castle of Termini and from some grottoes in the surrounding area, these were found, studied and classified by Giuseppe Patiri. The numismatic collection, comprehends coins of different Greek coinage, Hellenistic and Roman coins found in Termini and a few lot purchased probably at the antiquarian market. The collection of the Classical Age includes pottery, mainly from the necropolis of the Greek colony of Himera, that was given to the museum by the land owners from Buonfornello. At last the collection of statues, Roman portraits and the

finds of the ancient Thermae, fruits of more o less regular excavations, made in the town area or found by mere chance. The archaeological section is on the ground floor on a right angle arrangement, following a chronological and topographical sequence. The first three rooms are dedicated to the prehistoric evidences, to the discoveries from Himera and to the coin collection; the next wide room gathers finds and inscriptions from Termini. For each of the three subjects (pre-history of the territory, the Greek colony of Himera, the Hellenistic and Roman town of Thermae), it has been tried to link the objects displayed with the sites from where they come from, through a series of didactic panels that resume the history, the topography and the architecture of the various localities. Naturally this has been possible especially for Termini: the material and artistic culture of the ancient town has been introduced in the topographic urban context, through a series of panels that inform visitors on the whole town, showing the principal buildings and the main public works.
The stone items from the Castle are attributed to the lower Palaeolithic period (Epigravettian), and is characterised by microlithic instruments. Stone and pottery objects (from the Epigravettian and Neolithic) have been found in grottoes around Termini (such as the grottoes of Geraci, Natale, Di Nuovo, Fanio, Puleri). Many of the finds are represented by knives, scrapers and gravers, some of them are shown in the cases, some others, instead, are still preserved in small wooden boxes with the same arrangement Patiri made at the beginning of this century.

The first three halls
Entering the room dedicated to the colony of Himera, the attention of the visitor is struck by the marble lion-head water spouts which decorated the Temple of Victory, built after 480 b.C., to celebrate the ancient Sicilian's victory over the Carthaginians not far from the town. The water spout, found next to the temple, was recovered by Pirro Marconi in 1929-30 and now is preserved in the Archaeological Museum "A. Salinas" in Palermo. Part of the water spout had already been brought to light in 1862, while making sample excavations promoted by I. De Michele and E. Iannelli and executed on the northern side of the temple by G. Meli. On this occasion nine spouts were recovered: three of them were brought to Palermo, the other three kept in Termini, two of which, best preserved, are exposed in the museum. According to Marconi two different styles, from Agrigento, can be distinguished: one more careful for the plasticity of the forms, the other more careful for the characteristics of the design and of the decorations of the lion mane. In the central case is shown an Attic red-figured krater (c. 450 b.C.), found in a tomb near Alca Secca, in the territory of Himera.
The scene

on it, mainly restored and badly painted, represents a warrior on his leaving; the opposite side depicts a conversation between three youngsters covered with mantels. In the first case to the right is shown a bell-shaped krater, found in 1872, on the La Scola estate, in the area of the town's western necropolis. The front depicts an internal scene; on the back, rather ruined, are three youngsters covered with mantels. It is a modest work, not much different from the style of the "Painter of the Chess-board", a conventional name to indicate a Sicel ceramic painter who worked in Syracuse after 415 b.C. In the same case there is a group of Attic funerary "lekithoi", mainly black-figured, dating from the end of the 6th to the whole 5 th century b.C.
In another case, instead, are shown a group of black painted vases, terracotta statuettes and oil-lamps, evidence of the funerary offerings left in the tombs of the necropolis surrounding the colony. All these finds are from over a long period of time that goes from the Archaic Age (6 th century b.C.) to the Classical Age (5 th century b.C.), until the destruction of Himera in 408 b.C. There are comonly found items, among which it is worthwhile pointing out a statuette of Athena Lindia, a group of three sitting figurines, a Corinthian "skyphos" (drinking cup) and black polished ceramic table ware imported from Athens.
The Greek coin collection is arranged in this same room. The collection comprehends both silver coins of Greek and Italian (Athens, Corinth, Velia) coinage and bronze coins made in various Sicilian towns. In the next room are exhibited Roman bronze and silver coins issued by several emperors, starting from Augustus.

Room four
The entrance - The discoveries of Termini are organised according to the typology, in the hall on the ground floor, because after the loss of the entry journals of the museum, it is not possible to recover the original archaeological contexts. There is no doubt that the majority of the integral objects come from the town's necropolis, although there are no records that permit to restore the funerary finds. A few file notes, that still remain, confirm such hypothesis, they suggest that the site of some of the discoveries may be the Giancaniglia countryside and the plane of S. Antonio, which is the area where the two most important necropolis of Thermae Himerae extended. Therefore, it hasn't been possible to suggest an arrangement different from the one adopted, which offers the advantage of offering to the visitor a complete view of the material and artistic culture of the ancient town.
In the showcases next to the entrance are exposed terracotta figurines and oil-lamps. The terracotta figurines date from the Hellenistic Age, between the 3rd and 1st centuries b.C. They represent the most common and popular feminine figures of this period, often only the heads, with a chignon or a melon-shaped hair-style. The oil-lamp collection chronologically covers a long period of time, from the 4 th century b.C. to the 7 th century A.D. Of particular interest, among the Hellenistic lamps, are those with a small open reservoir and central pipe, entirely painted black (4 th - 3rd centuries b.C.); the lamps with globular reservoir and a long neck, painted black or without colouring, are dated from the 3rd century. There is a good number of typical Sicilian made oil-lamps, from the 1st century b.C., which have a globular or carinate reservoir and short neck. Among the specimen of the early

Imperial Age some, with a volute neck, decorated plate and a high half-moon shaped handle, signed AY, are particularly interesting, they may be ascribed at the school of Proclus Agyrios, who was active in eastern Sicily during the 1st century A.D. and probably also at the beginning of the 2nd century. Other lamps with volute neck and decorated plate, have a shallow reservoir and small handle, probably of Italian manufacture, can be dated from the 1st and 2nd centuries A.D. Nevertheless, one of these lamps, signed LOUKIOU (in Greek characters), is with no doubt imported from Corinth.
There is also quite a good number of African red-coloured lamps, imported and then also imitated in Sicily since the 4th century. These lamps have handle and plate decorated often with Christian symbols such as the sign of the cross.
The Hellenistic pottery is displayed in two cases according to a similar typologic and chronological criterion. In the first case there are black painted vases, in the one behind, instead, are the colourless domestic pottery. A few objects are noteworthy: a pyxis, a lid and a bottle, all decorated in the style of Gnathia (white paintings over black painted background). Among the funerary offerings commonly found in the tombs were the unguentariums, with a typical elongated-shape, and different kinds of small pitchers, some of which are displayed in the museum.

Room four. Bottom of the room - In the first case, opposite the stairs, continues the exposition of fine table pottery, black-painted plates made in southern Italy and vases with "thin sides" from the 2nd -1st centuries b.C. It was around 40-30 b.C. that the red-painted pottery, made on the Italian peninsula, (called Italic sealed), started to spread throughout the country. Numerous fragments of this kind of pottery are shown in the same case, especially bottoms of plates which still have a seal with the "signature" of the ceramist. Starting from the 2nd century the Italic sealed pottery was replaced by the African one, which became the most used earthenware until the Byzantine age, also in Sicily. Fragments of the two types of pottery A and D, both produced in the area of present Tunisia, gives us an idea of the wide spreading of this kitchenware also in Termini. Among the other vases of the Roman period are well represented the colourless small urns, often used to keep the ashes of the dead, and a few small pitchers from the late Roman period (5th -7th centuries A.D.), with a characteristic large-groove decoration, obtained with a turning lathe.
Another

artisan work in Termini was the glass manufacturing, as it is demonstrated by the frequent discoveries of glass melting waste in the archaeological diggings executed in the town's urban area. The majority of the vases, mainly from the necropolis, preserved in the museum, are all displayed in the same case. There are glass urns, used to keep the bones or the ashes of the dead, and small vases, such as the unguentariums, which instead were the personal belongings given to the dead for their life in the underworld. From these funerary contexts are also two nice bowls dating from the 1st century A.D. Besides are to be pointed out the fragments of two Hellenistic alabastra, of a kind fairly frequent in Sicilian necropolis, with a "bird feather"-like decoration, probably of oriental make. A completely different section comprehends terracotta figurines made in Campania (southern Italy), which are all in the same case on the side of the hall facing the collection of inscriptions. Mainly there are ex-voto offerings, heads, legs and feet, which represent the part of the body for which the faithful has achieved healing. Undoubtedly these offerings were recovered from a sanctuary in Campania, for they have no connection with the cultural context of Termini, and very likely were given to the museum during the past century, after being separated from a whole lot given to Palermo by will of the Bourbon king Ferdinand II.
A sample of the large number of inscriptions of the museum's collection is arranged on three steps. There are twenty-two Greek inscriptions and more than a hundred Latin ones, almost all of them are funerary offerings. Particularly interesting are: the inscription dedicated by the "agoranomi" (officials that supervised the markets) to Aphrodite, and the inscription that celebrates an unknown person, who had financed some public works for the benefit of the town. Among the Latin inscriptions are noteworthy the dedications to various emperors: Augustus, Antonino Pio, Commodo, Settimio Severo, Elagabalo and to some illustrious citizens, such as the members of the senatorial family of the Maesii Titiani.
On the far side of the hall are placed three great architectonic cornices, from the 1st century, probably part of public buildings. Immediately after are displayed samples of terracotta and lead water-pipes, the remains of the town's huge water line supplied by the Cornelio Aqueduct. Some elements of the terracotta water-main, with a large diameter (cm 36), have been taken away from the ancient aqueduct and used for the syphon of Tre Pietre.

Room four. Central part - The hall, we have described up to now, is divided in two by the exposition of the portraits and statues from the Roman period, which represent, with no doubt, one of the most interesting collections of a Sicilian museum, for its artistic and historical importance. It is mainly the work of a group of marble-cutters from the Italian peninsula, that came to Thermae during the early imperial age, when the town became a Roman colony. On the left wall are displayed, next to three female heads, copy or a remaking of the original Greek ones, a portrait of the emperor Tiberius and two female portraits, one of the age of Trajan, the other of the Julius-Claudius age. The first portrait, probably made by a Roman school, is a formal work of art that has a rather academic style. The female bust of the age of Trajan (early 2nd century) comes from the area of the forum and therefore it was settled in the most important and significative public space of the colony. It must be, with no doubt, the portrait of a personality of h

igh social and intellectual levels, as suggested by the strong-willed expression of the statue. Probably it was the work of local artisans, it is included in the portraying current of the late age of Trajan, which reproduces a classic-like style, thus preluding the classicism of the age of Hadrian. The third portrait was recovered, by the end of the past century during the building of the Hotel delle Terme. It represents, for sure, a woman from one of the very well-known families of the town. Though it is severely damaged, the remarkable characterization of the face and the good quality of the modelling can still be noticed.

On the opposite wall stands a noteworthy portrait of Agrippina Maggiore with veil, who was the mother of the emperor Caligula, (a piece of the veil has been restored). This portrait was found, together with a togaed figure, on the area of an ancient building known traditionally as the "house of Stenio". It was probably a portico or a basilica in the town

's forum, where a series of statues of the imperial family were exposed. With no doubt it is the most well-known and celebrated portrait from Termini, though it shows an academic style, slightly attenuated by the soft movement of the hair. To the left of the portrait a shoed foot of a huge statue may be admired; the leaf and plant decorations are of great delicacy, and were made by artists from Italy, or directly from Rome. In the middle of the hall, arranged on two lines are six fragmentary statues, three on each side. Among the statues with toga is worth of attention the one called "Stenio", that is very likely to represent a prince of the Julius-Claudius family, considering the place of its recovery (the "house of Stenio", a building of the forum, as already stated). The plain and straight style of the drapery permits to date it from the early Imperial age. A second togaed figure, instead, is to be dated from the second half of the 1st century A.D., as shown by the deep folds of the drapery that cause a remarkable light and shade effect. As for the other fragments of male statues, one for its plain style is also from the first half of the 1st century A.D.; the other instead, for the arrangement of the gown and the rigidity of the folds, can be dated from the late Ancient age.
There are fragments of two female statues. Noteworthy is the lower part of a draped figure, with one leg slightly bent outwards, with no doubt is a fragment of a statue-portrait of first-rate work dating from the early Imperial age. The second fragment probably represented a priestess of the goddess Isis (as evinced by the fringes of the gown).

Room four. Corridor - A narrow corridor, obtained from the inside corner of the hall, leads to the historic-artistic section. In the showcase to the right are displayed a few items from the Medieval and Modern ages. We just point out an amphora, pitchers with filter opening, the glazed ceramics from the Norman period and a few glazed oil-lamps with long neck, from the same Norman period. On the opposite wall a

couple of Arab funerary inscriptions, and of a particular historical interest, a tufa block bearing an inscription that celebrates an edifice build on the will of the caliph al-Mu'izz (953-973), who in 966 ordered the strengthening of the island's defences, because it often was attached by the Byzantine. This inscription was originally immured in one of the gates of the Castle of Termini, and therefore it is believed that the edifice built by the caliph must be identified with the same fortress.

The historic-artistic section
The historic-artistic section of the Civic Museum of Termini Imerese is housed part in the large Cinquecento hall and part in the chapel of San Michele, which was restored on purpose to be used as an exhibition room, and which still bears on the walls traces of frescoes. A piece of art, which probably arrived through the trading linked to the activi

ties of the port of Termini Imerese, is the procession gonfalon. The front of it is decorated with the Crucifixion and the sorrowful figures of the Virgin and Saint John, on the back instead are represented Saint Peter and Saint Paul, it dates from the middle 15th century and was probably made by Paolo Veneziano and assistants. The small panel, which was part of the Gargotta collection, from where many other pieces in the Civic Museum of Termini Imerese also come, was restored at the end of the 1800 when it was inserted in a Neo-gothic frame. Not much is known about the origin of this work of art, whether it was bought at an antique market or just collected, like most of the paintings of the collection, within closed churches and convents of Termini Imerese. Such piece of art may have arrived in Sicily from Venice or through Pisa, as the artist worked also in the cemetery of this town. This hypothesis may also be made for other works, such as the Madonna and Child at the Palazzo Abatellis Gallery, which Roberto Longhi attributes to Paolo Veneziano.
Originally the procession standard might have belonged to one of the confraternities of Termini Imerese. On one side of the diptych by Allegretto Nunzi, housed in Berlin's Museum, is a scene of the Cruci-fixion with the same iconography, though with the addition of Magdalen. Giulia Aurigemma points out that " the proportional group of figures....recalls the work-shop or the school of Maestro Paolo during the wave of Neo-byzantinism at the middle of the century".

Another procession standard, from a Palermitan private collection, shows a similar iconography. It is attributed to the Master of Coronation and dates from the late 14th century, though on the back it represents the Resurrection. Also this work of art can be considered among those coming from Pisa. Due to trading between the town and its colonies on the island, several paintings by artists from the continent arrived in Sicily, thus inspiring and influencing many local artists, such as the Master of Coronation. One of the most important pieces in the museum is the Triptych, once in the chur

ch of Santa Maria la Misericordia, attributed to Gaspare da Pesaro. Formerly this work of art was kept in the Regional Gallery of Sicily at Palazzo Abatellis (Palermo), where it was exhibited in the room dedicated to the paintings of the 1400s.
Gaspare da Pesaro, whose activity is documented from 1413 to 1460, year of his testament, is one of the major artists of western Sicily during the early 15th century. The painter is known only through documentary evidence, as none of the works found are for sure made by him. Gioacchino di Marzo, a famous expert on Sicilian art, which made a first reconstruction of the painter's activity, and other scholars, have always believed that the artist came from Pesaro. Genevi�ve Bresc Bautier, who gathered a great deal of documentary information on this artist, instead is in doubt about such origin. She thinks it is possible that the name "da Pesaro" may be considered a patronymic, as it is found in different parts of Sicily. The painter must have been in contact with other artists which, at the time, were working in Sicily, such as, in 1422, Johannes de Buychello, Niccol˜ di Magio from Siena, the silversmith Paolo Antonio de Jacobo from Verona and, in 1425, the famous Spanish painter Jaymus Sanches.
In 1438 Gaspare da Pesaro went to Gaeta at the court of Alfonso the Magna-nimous to paint in miniature some codices. Such fact points out the importance of the artist as he was called to work at court and because he wasn't just a painter but also a fine miniaturist. In 1444 Giovanni Panicula, a painter from Trapani, vouches for him, and then the artist himself and the silversmith Pietro di Spagna answered for the realisation of the choir stalls in the church of San Domenico in Palermo, for which Nicola de Nuchio was appointed.

Unanimously the triptych of Termini Imerese, dating from 1453, is attributed to Gaspare da Pesaro. Di Marzo suggests that the artist may have done it with the help of his son Guglielmo, thus disagreeing with the hypothesis of Ignazio De Michele, which attributes this work to Tommaso De Vigilia. Stefano Bottari points out the "strong Marchigian characteristics" of the work of art. Some scholars, wrongly, considered the triptych a copy, but it turned out to be authentic after being recently restored by the Central Restoration Institute in Rome, and still now is attributed to Gaspare da Pesaro and his son Guglielmo.
Among the other pieces attributed to the artist is the polyptych from the Gallera collection, formerly in the house of the Lo Faso family and now p

art of the Romano collection. This work comes from the Mother Church of Termini Imerese. It has also been thought that Gaspare da Pesaro could be one of the authors of the fresco of the Triumph of Death, formerly in the Palazzo Sclafani at Palermo and now housed in the Gallery of Palazzo Abatellis. If this hypothesis is accepted as true, then also other works, for their style similar to the one of the fresco, are to be attributed to Gaspare da Pesaro. For instance the triptych with the Saints Vito and Castrense, formerly in Monreale and now housed in the Gallery of Palazzo Abatellis, and the first miniature of the codex "Consuetudines et statuta nobilis civitatis Messanae" of Palermo's Public Library. All these works are the expression of the international late Gothic culture current in those times all around the Mediterranean area and of which Gaspare da Pesaro was an outstanding representative.
The triptych of Termini Imerese represents the Madonna and Child between Saint John the Baptist and the Archangel Michael, and on the lower part is the scene of the Holy Manger. This work has style affinities with the polyptych of the Coronation of the Virgin, from the Monastery of S. Salvatore in Corleone, now housed in the Gallery of Palazzo Abatellis and generally attributed to Gaspare da Pesaro. For certain aspects the triptych of Termini Imerese is also similar to the triptych of the Madonna and goldfinch from the Mother Church of Caccamo, a small town near Termini Imerese, which often shared the same artists. The recent attribution of these works to the same author emphasises, even if only through hypothesis, the large diffusion of the activity of da Pesaro's workshop: Gaspare must have been the founder and Guglielmo, a clever continuer, but they probably worked together between 1450 and 1460.

A painted wooden sculpture bears an original iconography: the Trinity is depicted as the Pietˆ, the three divine characters are represented with the same physiognomy and wrapped up in the same cloak. Such iconography, represented in Sicily only by this work, fell

into disuse after the Counter-reformation. The sculpture, which arrived at the museum as a gift from the Indovina, is of Spanish make, or at least of Spanish inspiration, as Sicily, since 1415, was a viceroyalty tightly linked to the culture of the Spanish Kingdom, which, as Teresa Viscuso points out, was strongly influenced by the Flemish art.
A rare piece is the marble cross from the late 15th century, originally on top of a column in front of the Franciscan church of Santa Maria di Gesù, called "la Gancia", in Termini Imerese. Similar crosses where placed in front of other Franciscan churches, as in front of the church of Santa Maria di Gesù in Palermo, which has been lost, or the one still standing in front of the church of S. Antonio at Castelbuono, which has written on the base the date 1413. It is well known by now that the Franciscan Friars had an important role in spreading the devotion for the image of the Cross, in its most different representations: from the wooden painted to the marble one. The marble cross of Termini Imerese has an original iconography similar, under certain aspects, to some silver procession crosses from the 15th century. On the front these crosses are decorated with the Crucifixion of Christ and on the ends of the cross the symbols of the Evangelists bearing cartouche ornaments. On the opposite side is the Madonna and Child and on the points of the cross are represented figures of saints chosen by the person who ordered the cross. In the Abbey of San Martino delle Scale is an example of a reliquary silver cross, made by Pietro di Spagna, bearing on the front the image of the Madonna and Child and on the ends of the cross saints of the Benedictine Order, which had commissioned the cross. It is important to recall that on the wall of the abbey is a 15th century marble cross, decorated on both sides, which originally must have been in the square facing the church. The marble cross of Termini Imerese may be considered the produce of a Gaginesque workshop, from the late 15th century.

Among the other Gaginesque sculptures in the museum is worth a mention: the marble icon representing the Madonna and Child enclosed by the typical parastades with candelabra. Among the works of art made by artists of Termini Imerese, the museum saves fragmentary pieces of frescoes, dating from 1486, which come from the church of Santa Caterina and represent the life of the saint. Gioacchino Di Marzo ascribes such work to the brothers Nicol˜ and Giacomo Graffeo. These artists besides being painters were also miniaturists. In 1484 Nicol˜ Graffeo, "pictor, habitator Thermarum", probably with the help of his brother, started to paint in miniature a breviary "di auro fino et azolo" belonging to Sister Lucrezia di La Matina. In the church of Santa Caterina are still parts of the fresco which are in very bad conditions and need an immediate s

cientific restoration, which could hopefully rescue what can still be saved of a piece of art and history of Termini Imerese. The museum houses another 15th century fresco, from the chapel of S. Gaetano in the Mother Church, representing the Madonna del latte (Madonna of milk).
Between 1502 and 1514 the painter Nicol˜ da Pettineo, who was a collaborator of Riccardo Quartararo, worked in Termini Imerese. A document from 1502 reports that he was "habitator civitatis Thermarum"; in 1504 he committed himself to "plaster, gild and paint a new gonfalon for S. Maria La Misericordia". Then, in 1506, the artist accepted to paint a canvas with the image of San Giacomo and scenes of his life, for the homonymous church. Ignazio De Michele considers the artist "of Termini" with regard to the 1514 frescoes in the church of S. Maria La Misericordia, which represent stories from the Old and New Testament. These frescoes, through the centuries, have been whitewashed and only the scene of the Capture of Jesus in the Garden has been rescued and now preserved in the museum.
The Civic Museum of Termini Imerese allows the visitor to know the history of art of the town through the works of the artists of Termini, such as Giacomo Di Leo, a local sculptor, of which is shown a valuable wooden sculpture of St. John the Baptist, formerly in the homonymous church. The artist, in 1511, realised a "wooden Crucifix for the church of St. Caterina, similar to the one already existing in the church of St. Sebastiano". Gioacchino Di Marzo believes that "the former...is the same one which once was in the previously mentioned church, and now is shown in the sacristy of the cathedral of Termini. It is very valuable for its countenance and for its medium size slim forms, though the cross is badly repainted, it is surmounted by an engraved pelican". The "big wooden cross with leaf ornaments" from the Mother Church of Vicari is lost. It was painted by Nicol˜ da Pettineo, and the wooden parts were realised by Giacomo Di Leo. The two artists, which were active in Termini Imerese during the same period, also worked together at Vicari.

Another piece of history of art of the Termini-Caccamo area, tightly linked to that of Palermo, are the frescoes from 1543. These were detached from the original site, in the convent of S. Domenico in Termini Imerese, transferred on canvas and placed in the Civic Museum, the work is ascribed to Brother Nicola Spalletta of Caccamo. Gioacchino Di Marzo thus describes the frescoes: "On the larger one are three standing life-size figures of saints, which are St. Caterina from Siena between Magdalen and St. Margherita, below is a small figure of a pious kneeling woman in prayer... Another fresco represents St. Domenico and St. Francesco d'Assisi embracing each other (not in the museum, editor's note) on the third one is the Virgin with her wide mantle, opened on both sides, under which are many Domenican friars, kneeling in prayer. These frescoes demonstrate that Brother Spalletta was, a part from a certain stiffness of his drawings, a painter of great talent and taste, surely educated by skilled teachers. This work has enough analogies with the frescoes discovered in the suppressed convent of St. Domen

ico in Palermo, to say that, though they were made seventeen years before, for sure are the work of the same artist's hand".
Another valuable Flemish work of art, from the 16th century school of Cologne, is the Annunciation. Among the Byzantine panels in Sicily, the small Odigitria triptych of the museum is worth a mention. This work represents, according to an archaic scheme, the Madonna and Child in the middle and on the side flaps a series of angels and saints of the Greek church: Giovanni Crisostomo, Gregorio Nazianzeno, Basilio and John the Evangelist. On the left flap above are depicted the Virgin, St. Joseph and an angel, below St. George. The other flap instead bears the images of St. Gioacchino, St. Anna and the Virgin, and below St. Demetrio. The two Christian heroes, St. Giorgio and St. Demetrio, are represented riding their horses while with the sword one kills the dragon and the other the chief of the Saracens. Symbolically the former fights against indefinite adversities and the latter against the real enemy of faith, both falling under the victorious strength of the two saints. The date of the work is uncertain, it ranges from the 12th century to the 18th century, but more probably it was made between the late 16th century and the beginning of the 17th.

A small painted cross, from the early 17th century is quite damaged. It has no more the frame and the edge of the cross is ruined by a blunting, the points have been cut off and it has been trimmed around the central figure of Christ which, thus, seems compressed. At the bottom there still is the symbolic skull and on the top the title. It is the work of a modest Sicilian painter, which proposes, with a tone of devotion, the figure of Christ in tune with the didactic and involving will of the pietism themes of the Baroque art.
There are a few works of artists not from Sicily, such as the Santa Cecilia of the school of Bologna from the 17th century, and a sketch of Bernini for St. Girolamo of Siena. Among the major artists of Termini Imerese is Vincenzo La Barbera, who was born around 1576-1577, and who signed his works: Thermitanusque Himereus pictor. In the museum are preserved some of his paintings: the saints Cosma and Damiano where there also is his self-portrait, signed and dated 1612; the Martyrdom of St. Agata; the Trinity fulminating heresy, from 1616; Christ on the Cross between the thieves and Magdalen, formerly in the convent of St. Francesco at Ciminna. Many other p

aintings of the artist are at Termini and Caccamo. In 1610 La Barbera frescoed the Assembly Hall of the Senatorial Palace of Termini Imerese. In the style of the frescoes, which represent events of the local history, Vincenzo Abbate has noticed Flemish influences.
Maria Clara Ruggieri Tricoli defines him as a "cultured artist, an outstanding representative of the late humanism of Termini. He probably studied, in Palermo, amid that lively milieu that surrounded the town new establishment, and in his art there also are strong influences of Tuscan mannerism". As an outstanding architect of the late mannerism culture he was careful to realise decorative works, making the drawings for ephemeral ornaments, altar frontals and tapestry, like the ones ordered by the powerful family of Enriquez-Cabrera, which are preserved in the museum.
He his named architect of the Senate when he makes, together with Mariano Smiriglio, the transitory decorations on the occasion of the celebrations for the arrival of the Viceroy Duke of Albuquerque, in 1626. Worth of mention are also the frescoes the artist made, together with Gerardo Astorino, for the third hall of the Duke of Montalto in the Royal Palace of Palermo. Here, once again, he distinguishes himself for "the architectures he had to paint". On the occasion of the end of the 1624 plague, the artist paints one of the first images of S. Rosalia rescuing the town of Palermo from the calamity. The painting formerly was in the cathedral of Palermo and now is housed in the Diocesan Museum. Probably the artist realised other versions of the same painting, such as the one in the church of the Annunziata in Caccamo, representing S. Rosalia as a pilgrim, dating from the same period, which I attribute to La Barbera. Of the same artist are the projects for the Mother Church of Caccamo, where recently I have rediscovered some frescoes that could be ascribed to the versatile master, and the projects for the arrangement of the area in front of the Mother Church of Termini Imerese, where he worked as the town engineer.

Another painter of Termini Imerese is Francesco Quaraisima, who was active during the early 17th century. In the museum is preserved his painting of the Birth of the Baptist, signed by the author and dated 1619, another version of it exists in the church of S. Maria degli Angeli in Caccamo. Quaraisima's other paintings in his native town are St. Carlo Borromeo, from 1615, in the homonymous church, and the Madonna between St. Onofrio and St. Nicola, from 1630, in the church of the Annunziata. According to what Antonio

Cuccia says, his style is "formulary iconic from the late mannerism, he builds a very personal art, rich in popular spirits, which he reproduces in a modest and pregnant way".
Rather interesting is the nearly contemporary copy of the painting of Matthias Stomer, representing the Miracle of St. Isidoro Agricola, in which Antonio Cuccia seems to recognise "the hand of a maybe German or maybe Flemish artist who worked in Caccamo: Joan Craus". The original painting, which is now in the Mother Church of Caccamo and previously was in the church of S.Agostino, bears the signature and the date: Matthias Stomer a. 1641. It was given to the church by the benefactor of Caccamo Giuseppe Antonio Lo Faso, though the iconography must have been required by the Austin Friars, who were very careful as for the "new naturalistic figurative art of the famous Flemish painter".
The Sicilian art from the 18th century is present in the museum with Olivio Sozzi's sketches for the fresco of the church of S. Maria d'Ispica, which represents the Sacrament of the Holy Mass. Olivio Sozzi is one of the most outstanding painters of the early 18th century art in Sicily. He was born in Catania in 1690, he was the pupil of Martino Susinno, but he grew in contact with Grano and Tancredi, and as Mariny Guttilla notices, "through their lessons he was able to filter the Roman and Neapolitan cultures and take only what agreed with his ideal of formal refinement, tending his language towards academical forms, according to the Classical current that in Rome had Maratta as its highest representative".
Another important work in the museum is the portrait of brother Pietro from Mazara, by brother Felice from Sambuca, a Capuchin present in the whole of Sicily with his involving manners and his strong feeling of devotion. His name was Gioacchino Viscosi, he was born in Sambuca in 1734, and became a Capuchin friar in 1755 taking the name Felice. His artistic forming started in Sciacca at the school of Francesco Aversa. Then he went to Palermo where he often associated with Olivio Sozzi and came in touch with Vito D'Anna, Mariano Rossi, Gaspare Serenario and Gioacchino Martorana. In 1768 the artist is called by the pope Clemente XIII, in Rome, to paint the portrait and the miracles of Brother Bernardo from Corleone, and in 1777 he goes to Tuscany to paint in several convents of that region. Brother Felice leaves paintings in every Capuchin convent of Sicily. His works show a frequently repeated iconography, yet expressing the frankness with which he was able to convey to others his faith.

Among the works of the 18th century we may remember a Crucifixion by Giuseppe Velasco, one of the most representative painters of the late 1700s. His first teachers were Gaetano Mercurio and Giuseppe Tresca, he regarded the paintings of Gioacchino Martorana and Vito D'Anna, but most significant was his acquaintance with Marvuglia. This friendship, according to Maria Giuffr�, allowed the artist to cultivate that antiquarian taste so typical of the contemporary decorator-architects. Remarkable was also the relation with Vincenzo Riolo. It must be mentioned that, as it was customary in those times, Velasco was entrusted with the restoration of the fresco of the Triumph of Death in the Sclafani Palace and of Van Dyck's Madonna del Rosario in the Oratory of the

Rosary of Palermo.
The Sicilian art of the late 19th century is represented by several works, such as the portrait of Antonio Maria Gargotta, benefactor of the museum, made by Filippo Liardo in 1857; the Portrait of a Man, by Francesco Lojacono and paintings by the famous artist of Termini, Ignazio De Michele. The latter was a man of culture, a student of local history and art, he was a benefactor who devoted himself to the works of art of the Civic Museum. It must be mentioned that, during his studies, De Michele discovered the act which commissioned, in 1484, Pietro Ruzzolone to paint the cross of the Mother Church of Termini Imerese. He was pointed out as a painter by Gargotta and Agostino Gallo. The artist gave many of his paintings to the museum, among which we may remember the Castle of Termini with the inscription "before 1860", Flowers, Fish, A view of Termini, The partridge, all works that bear his initials and the date 1876. And still Venus and S. Sebastian.
The museum does not lack valuable works of decorative art, starting from a ceroplastics group representing the Madonna and Child, which recalls the style of Anna Fortino, to the Sicilian furniture from the 18th century. Among these is the characteristic wooden chest lacquered and painted, with flower motifs, in all the warm shades of colours, typical of the Sicilian art.
(text by Maria Concetta Di Natale)