France unveils the “new” Palazzo Butera, one of the most fascinating and historically significant dwellings in all of Sicily, in an event entitled “The Rebirth of Palazzo Butera in Palermo” hosted by the Italian Cultural Institute in Paris. Abandoned decades ago and left in a state of complete neglect, the famous building – one of the best known of Sicilian aristocracy – is now reborn. It owes its second birth to an enlightened entrepreneur, Massimo Valsecchi, a philanthropist and art collector who bought the ruined palazzo with his wife. In this venture, he was supported by a visionary engineer, Marco Giammona, who had already managed to “resuscitate” Palazzo Sambuca, one of the marvels of the Kalsa Arab district of Palermo. Along with film director Andrea Cusumano – Deputy Mayor of Palermo and the city’s Councillor for Culture – the project developers will illustrate to the audience of the Italian Cultural Institute in Paris all the phases in the project to conserve and restore this magnificent palazzo, which bears testimony to the history of Palermo and of Sicily and whose premises have now been redesigned to accommodate private residences and public exhibition spaces. Famous for its monumental façade overlooking the terrace over the Gulf of Palermo, Palazzo Butera greets visitors like a woman with open arms. And, after this event, it will open its arms also to greet new French tourists.