Gattopardo Biennale

An art biennale in the city of the Gattopardo

The Gattopardo Biennale is one of the youngest and most ambitious contemporary art exhibitions in Sicily. It takes place in Palma di Montechiaro, a town in the province of Agrigento deeply linked to the figure of Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa and his novel The Leopard (Il Gattopardo). The event finds its ideal setting in the Palazzo Ducale, a historic building that dominates the town center and serves as a grand exhibition space open to the public for the duration of the biennale.

Art, literature, and Sicilian identity

The project was born with the goal of intertwining visual arts with literature and the identity of the Gattopardo lands. Each edition proposes a theme around which paintings, sculptures, installations, and digital artworks by Italian and international authors are organized. The artistic direction is entrusted to Michele Citro, who has given the exhibition an international scope, involving artists from various European countries and beyond.

The 2025 edition: Masterpieces to read and see

The second edition, titled Masterpieces to read and see, took place from May 10 to June 8, 2025, and offered a journey where fifteen artists reinterpreted great works of literature in a visual key. Included in the Agrigento Italian Capital of Culture 2025 program, the exhibition recorded over 15,000 visitors, featuring an opening conference dedicated to the relationship between art and culture with the participation of nationally renowned guests and speakers.

The Palazzo Ducale and the Gattopardo sites

Visiting the Gattopardo Biennale also means discovering Palma di Montechiaro, founded in 1637 by the Tomasi family and famous for its monumental staircase, the Mother Church, and its bond with the Salina literary saga. The Palazzo Ducale, the venue for the exhibition, offers visitors an itinerary that combines contemporary art and historical heritage in a municipality of south-western Sicily that has invested decisively in culture as a driver of development in recent years.

A biennial appointment

Conceived as a biennial, the exhibition periodically returns to animate the historic center of Palma di Montechiaro with exhibitions, meetings, and moments of discussion. The municipal administration has announced a new edition for 2026, confirming the desire to make the event a permanent fixture in the cultural calendar of the Agrigento area and the Sicilian Region.