The Palazzo del Monte dei Paschi di Siena is a building in the historic centre of Reggio Calabria that today houses the local branch of the Sienese bank.
What to see
Commissioned by the Catanoso family as their private residence to a design by the engineer Pietro De Nava, the palace occupies the corner of the block bounded by via Torrione and via Fata Morgana and is one of the city's most representative examples of Liberty architecture. The main façade, on via Torrione, has a round-arched portal framed by two pilasters with classical capitals; the building rises over two storeys above ground plus a basement, with a rustic ashlar plinth from which the barred basement windows open.
On the first floor, once occupied by bank counters open to the public, large arched windows open with rusticated frames and artistically worked ironwork; on the second floor, given over to offices, balconies supported by large corbels follow one another, with balustrades shaped like small columns and lintelled openings aligned with those below. Above the main entrance, the eaves cornice rises to form a curved pediment enclosing the coat of arms of the Catanoso family, the building's first owners.
Visiting
The building is a bank branch: it can be admired from outside while walking along via Torrione and via Fata Morgana.
Our editors' tip
Look for the coat of arms enclosed in the pediment above the main entrance: it is the only visible trace, on the façade, of the Catanoso family who had the palace built as their own residence, long before it became a bank branch.
