ROYAL ARTS VISIONS; Prince Albert II visits Palazzo Steri in Palermo

Prince Albert II 

visits Palazzo Steri in

 Palermo

Prince Albert II of Monaco visited Sicily this Sunday. Prince Albert II attended a meeting of the bureau of the International Commission for the Scientific Exploration of the Mediterranean Sea (CIESM) in Palermo, the day before the opening of the 43rd CIESM Congress.

Prince Albert II chairs the CIESM working session (Photo: Axel Bastello / Prince's Palace)

Prince Albert II attends a meeting on the eve of the 43rd CIESM Congress in Palermo

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The International Commission for the Scientific Exploration of the Mediterranean Sea (CIESM) is an independent organisation that brings together 23 Member States, hundreds of marine institutes and thousands of marine researchers. CIESM is organising its Congress this Monday in Palermo. On the eve of the opening of the 43rd Congress, Prince Albert II attended the final preparatory meeting.

This Sunday 13 October, Prince Albert II arrived in Palermo in the morning. He was welcomed at Palazzo Chiaramonte-Steri by the Rector of the University of Palermo, Professor Massimo Midiri. Prince Albert was accompanied by the Ambassador of Monaco to Italy, Anne Eastwood, during his visit.

Meeting of CIESM officials on the eve of its 43rd Congress (Photo: Axel Bastello / Prince's Palace)

Visit to Palazzo Steri in Palermo

“The aim of this meeting was to take stock of recent CIESM activities and explore new opportunities to strengthen scientific cooperation on maritime issues in the Mediterranean,” explained the Prince’s Palace. Laura Giugliano, Director of CIESM, and Prince Albert II chaired this meeting in the presence of the members of the board, including Tidiani Couma, National Delegate of Monaco.

Prince Albert II visits the Palazzo Steri (Photo: Axel Bastello / Prince's Palace)

Palazzo Steri is a must-see building in Palermo, which today houses the seat of the university rectorate (Photo: Axel Bastello / Palazzo Prinziale)

This palace belonged to the powerful Chiaramonte family (Photo: Axel Bastello / Prince's Palace)

After the meeting, Prince Albert II visited the Palazzo Steri. This palace was built around 1320 by Manfredi I, of the Chiaramonte family. The building is now the seat of the rectorate of the University of Palermo. The Prince's Palace explains that this emblematic building of Sicilian history "is an important testimony of Catalan Gothic architecture and an essential place to understand the periods of the Inquisition and medieval domination in Sicily".

Nicolas Fontaine