Ground floor Salone d'Armi This houses the museum's ticket office as well as Jewish inscriptions and inscriptions from the medieval senate-house where the decision was taken to expel the city's Jewish population in 1492, including a copy of the Julia Fiorentina inscription from the
Louvre. It also houses a medieval keystone, a 16th-century cannon, parts of an ancient Roman mosaic showing the months, a 16th-century inscription mentioning a castellan from
Toledo and a statue of
Ignazio Paternò Castello Principe di Biscari, by
Antonio Calì, displayed with a copy of his book
Viaggio per le Antichità della Sicilia. The room is, however, named after its large collection of weapons. File:Epigrafi giudaiche (Catania).jpg|Jewish inscriptions File:Mosaico raffigurante i mesi.jpg|Mosaic File:Iscrizione per la cacciata degli ebrei.jpg|Inscription on the expulsion of the Jews in 1492
Sala di raccordo nord This room and those following it display finds from the city's Roman theatre, including a huge headless statue, a torso of Hermes and a plinth found by
Biscari in 1770 showing a trophy crowned by two Victories and two barbarian prisoners on its sides.
Torre delle Bandiere This houses fragments of Roman mosaic, statue of Hercules and a plaster copy of Costanza d'Aragona's sarcophagus.
Salone delle scuderie The main works exhibited here include: • a mosaic of putti from the Terme Achilliane, showing them inviting you to enjoy your stay in the baths (
"Vtere Feliciter") • fragment of a frieze showing Apollo and Artemis in a
gigantomachy, 3rd century AD • male torso, dedicated to Jupiter, found near the monastery of Sant'Agostino by
principe Biscari in 1737. • statue of Hercules in a lionskin just after killing the
Nemean Lion • statue of Hercules resting,
Farnese Hercules type, holding one of the apples of the
Hesperides • plinth with dolphins File:Torso di Giove (Catania).jpg|Torso of Jupiter File:Gigantomachia (Catania).jpg|Frieze of a gigantomachy File:1345 - Catania - Castello Ursino - Bellerofronte, sec. II d.C. - Foto Giovanni Dall'Orto, 2-Oct-2007.jpg|Bellerophon, 2nd century AD File:9828 - Heracles (2nd centuy). Castello ursino, Catania - Photo by Giovanni Dall'Orto, October 28 2016.jpg|Hercules in Lionskin, 2nd century AD File:1344 - Catania - Castello Ursino - Apollo citardeo , sec. I d.C. - Foto Giovanni Dall'Orto, 2-Oct-2007.jpg|Apollo with a Cithara, 1st century AD
Sala This houses displays of clay statues of subjects such as Aphrodite, a small dog fighting a cockerel, a nymph on a rock and a prehistoric head. Particularly notable is a colossal ram, whilst the most important work in the room is a fragment of a cavalryman, probably from a historiated column, found near porta Carlo V.
Torre del Sale Named after its previous use as a storehouse for salt, it now houses a mosaic showing a head, thought to be an allegory for Africa, and a bust of an Egyptian woman.
Sala di San Giorgio / Sala della Cappella This displays around 2000 bronze figurines, of which 1600 are from the
Benedettini collection and the rest from the Biscari collection. They date to the Archaic, Siceliot, Greek, Etruscan-Italic and Hellenistic eras. It also houses a 420 BC marble relief of Demeter and Kore found on Montevergine hill in 1930 and several Greek vases such as the red-figure
Crater with Perseus and Medusa from excavations in Camarina. File:9858 - Ancient Greek bronzes. Castello ursino, Catania - Photo by Giovanni Dall'Orto, October 28 2016.jpg|Figurines File:Demetra Castello Ursino.png|Bust of Demeter, 5th century BC File:Cippo Carcaci (Catania), conservato al castello ursino.jpg|Carcaci
cippus Other rooms These house inscriptions and statues, together forming the permanent "Voci di Pietra" display: File:Epigrafe Aurelio Samohil.jpg|Inscription of Aurelius Samohil File:1297 - Catania - Castello Ursino - Ryhton attico, 430-410 aC - Foto Giovanni Dall'Orto 2-Oct-2006.jpg|Attic rhyton File:1304 - Catania - Castello Ursino - Cratere attico con scena di Simposio, 400-390 aC - Foto Giovanni Dall'Orto 2-Oct-2006.jpg|Attic crater with a symposium scene File:Attic black figure lekythos.jpg|Black-figure Attic lekythos File:9896 - Ulysses and Polyphemos, (2nd century AD) - Catania, Castello Ursino - Photo by Giovanni Dall'Orto, October 28 2016.jpg|Polyphemus and Ulysses, 2nd century AD File:Hercules relief, marble, Sicilian Greek, 2nd century BC.JPG|Wrestlers, 2nd century AD
First Floor - Madonna and Child Enthroned|alt=
Sala This houses: • two tomb reliefs (one for a 16th-century recipient of the Order of the Golden Fleece and the other of a sleeping figure) • Byzantine icons • a
Limoges enamel plaque of the crucifixion • a 'smalto' of
The Virgin in Glory •
Portrait of a Gentleman by
El Greco (recently restored using funds from OperaTua) • a 15th-century painting of
Madonna with Saint Lucy and Saint John • parts of a polyptych by
Antonello de Saliba from
Santa Maria di Gesù church:
Madonna and Child, St Anthony, St Francis of Assisi, Resurrection •
St Onufrius by Bernazzano. • 17th century chess set from the Benedettini •
Last Supper by
Luis de Morales. - Saint Januarius
Salone dei Parlamenti This mainly houses 17th and 18th century works, including masterpieces by
Matthias Stomer from the collection donated to the city by Giovan Battista Finocchiaro in 1826 such as
Death of Cato,
Crucifixion of St Peter,
Suicide of Seneca and
Christ Mocked. It also displays works by
Pietro Novelli such as
St Christopher,
St John the Baptist,
Madonna and Child with St Louis of France and
The Good Samaritan. Also notable are: • the only surviving copy of
Caravaggio's
Nativity with St. Francis and St. Lawrence, the original of which was stolen by the Mafia and has never been recovered - the copy was produced in 1627 by Don Gaspare Orioles da Paolo Geraci. •
Christ at the Column by
Mario Minniti •
Penitent Mary Magdalene, school of
Giovanni Lanfranco •
St Luke Painting the Virgin Mary by
Mattia Preti •
St Catherine in Ecstacy, previously attributed to
Giulio Cesare Procaccini and later to
Pier Francesco Mazzucchelli. •
Prophet,
St Francis with a Crucifix and
Lament over the Dead Christ by
Jusepe de Ribeira and his school •
Mary Magdalene by
Andrea Vaccaro •
Three Kings by
Simone de Wobreck •
St Januarius attributed to
Francesco Solimena File:Matthias Stom - Morte di Catone.jpg|
Matthias Stomer - Death of Cato File:1293 - Catania - Castello Ursino - Mathias Stomer, Cristo deriso (ca. 1640) - Foto Giovanni Dall'Orto, 2-Oct-2007a.jpg|
Matthias Stomer, Christ Mocked File:Estasi di Santa Caterina da Siena (Catania), castello ursino.jpg|
Morazzone - Ecstacy of Saint Catherine of Siena File:Cristo alla Colonna (Catania), castello ursino .jpg|
Mario Minniti - Christ at the Column File:San Luca (Catania), castello ursino.jpg|
Mattia Preti - Saint Luke as a Painter
Sala This room houses 18th century works: •
Coronation of Saint Agatha,
Death of Saint Joseph and
Saint Francesco Caracciolo, oil sketches by
Marcello Leopardi •
Martyrdom of Saint Agatha, oil sketch by
Mariano Rossi. •
Still Life with Fruit and a Landscape and
Still Life with Fruit and a Fountain by
Aniello Ascione. •
Landscape with Ruins, anonymous west Italian painter, one of five paintings from Villa Scabrosa; a pair with
Naval Battle •
Woman Selling Fish by
Giuseppe Bonino (1760) •
Kneeling Aphrodite, statue by a central Italian artist in classical style •
Mary Magdalene, attributed to
Guglielmo Borremans •
St Agatha Before Quintianus, wax sculpture •
St Agatha Crowned in Prison, wax sculpture • door sculpture in the style of the Gagini family •
Portrait of Prior Placido Scammacca, shown holding an ancient Greek vase •
Birth of Venus, small painting by
Michele Rocca •
Birth of Adonis, small painting
Michele Rocca - The Sicilian Vespers File:Venditrice di pesce (Catania), castello ursino.jpg|
Giuseppe Bonino - Woman Selling Fish File:Paesaggio con rovine (Catania), castello ursino.jpg|Anon. - Landscape with Ruins File:La Maddalena (Catania), castello ursino.jpg|Possibly
Guglielmo Borremans - Mary Magdalene
Sala Michele Rapisardi As its name suggests this room mainly displays paintings by
Michele Rapisardi, including his
The Sicilian Vespers,
Head of Ofelia Pazza, a self-portrait and a study for
Vespers. It also houses works by
Natale Attanasio (
Sunt Lacrima Rerum, best known as "Le Pazze";
Women in the Fields; ''Tasso and Cardinal d'Este
) and Bernardo Celentano (Provenzan Salvani in the piazza del Campo''). File:Autoritratto - Michele Rapisardi.JPG|
Michele Rapisardi -
Self-portrait File:Rapisardi - Testa di Ofelia pazza (1865).jpg|
Michele Rapisardi -
Head of Ofelia pazza File:Rapisardi - study for I Vespri Siciliani, 1865.jpg|
Michele Rapisardi - Study for
The Sicilian Vespers File:Natale Attanasio - Donne per i campi.jpg|
Natale Attanasio -
Women in the Fields File:Bernardo Celentano - "Provenzan Salvani nella piazza del Campo", 1856 c..jpg|
Bernardo Celentano -
Provenzan Salvani in the piazza del Campo Second floor Sala - Portrait of His Niece Clementina - This houses several 19th century portraits by Rapisarda,
Giuseppe Rapisardi,
Giuseppe Sciuti,
Natale Attanasio,
Calcedonio Reina,
Francesco Lojacono,
Pasquale Liotta,
Domenico Morelli,
Alessandro Abate,
Antonino Gandolfo and
Giuseppe Gandolfo, along with a number of 18th century Chinese vases, violins produced by
Andrea Amati, Caltagirone ceramics, 17th century bronze statuettes of Venus and Vulcan and an 18th-century bronze statuette of Perseus. File:Ritratto della Cognata (Catania).jpg|
Antonino Gandolfo - Portrait of La Cognata File:A gandolfo musica forzata.jpg|
Antonino Gandolfo - Forced Music File:Calcedonio Reina - Love and Death.jpg|
Calcedonio Reina - Love and Death File:L'effetto dell'hashish - Pasquale Liotta.JPG|
Pasquale Liotta - The Effect of Hashish File:L'incubo di Elisabetta I (Catania).jpg|
Pasquale Liotta - The Incubus of
Elizabeth I File:Pescatore (Catania).jpg|
Francesco Lojacono - Fisherman File:La Morte del Tasso (Catania).jpg|
Domenico Morelli - The Death of Tasso File:La Cuoca (Catania).jpg|
Girolamo Induno - Woman Cooking File:Musica Forzata (Catania).jpg|
Alessandro Abate - Forced music File:Ore felici (Catania).jpg|
Michele Rapisardi - Happy Hours File:Venere su divano verde (Catania).jpg|
Michele Rapisardi - Venus on a Green Couch File:Ritratto di Famiglia (Catania).jpg|
Giuseppe Rapisardi - Family Portrait File:1286 - Catania - Castello Ursino - Anonimo, Perseo (sec. XVI) inv 6643 - Foto Giovanni Dall'Orto 2-Oct-2006a.jpg|Perseus (16th century) File:1280 - Catania - Castello Ursino - Ceramica di Caltagirone, sec. XVIII - Foto Giovanni Dall'Orto, 2-Oct-2007.jpg|Caltagirone ceramic, 18th century File:1281 - Catania - Castello Ursino - Ceramica di Caltagirone, sec. XVIII - Foto Giovanni Dall'Orto, 2-Oct-2007.jpg|Caltagirone ceramic, 18th century File:1282 - Catania - Castello Ursino - Ceramica di Caltagirone, sec. XVIII - Foto Giovanni Dall'Orto, 2-Oct-2007.jpg|Caltagirone ceramic, 18th century
Open space This large room houses temporary exhibitions as well as sculptures, bas-reliefs, inscriptions from Certosa di Nuovaluce and an urn by the
Gaginian school. A room beside it houses some of the numismatic collection and the whole Fondo
Sebastiano Ittar, including engravings by Ittar showing studies of monuments and works of art in Catania. ==References==