Borgo Parrini, a corner of Barcelona in Palermo

Borgo Parrini is the dream of a man who changed the geography of a village

If beauty will save the world, I don’t know. But it certainly saves abandoned villages.

A small, decayed hamlet has become, thanks to the vision of one man, a fairytale place visited by thousands of people. The man is Giuseppe Gaglio, an entrepreneur passionate about art. The place is Borgo dei Parrini, a small rural district within the municipality of Partinico (PA), in Sicily.

Who is Giuseppe Gaglio and why is he inspired by Antoni Gaudí

The man behind the rebirth of the village is Giuseppe Gaglio, a social entrepreneur and art enthusiast. Tired of seeing the hamlet—where he himself lived—abandoned and turned into a dumping ground, he decided to give it new life. He began restoring the houses he had inherited, securing them, then coloring and embellishing them with ceramic decorations inspired by the techniques of Spanish architect Antoni Gaudí, the leading figure of Catalan Modernism.

The materials he uses are mostly recycled. As he says: “I compose fragments of little value which, together, regain form and life, releasing beauty and hope.”

Why it is called Borgo dei Parrini

Founded between the 16th and 17th centuries, Borgo Parrini appears under this name in Bourbon cadastral maps, marking the presence of the Jesuit Fathers of the Novitiate of Palermo. The term Parrini in Sicilian dialect means “priests.” The Jesuits had purchased land in the northeastern feudal areas of Partinico.

At the beginning of the 18th century, to better control the agricultural activities of settlers and farmers (especially vineyards and citrus groves), the Jesuits built a church dedicated to Maria SS. del Rosario, around which a real village developed, complete with warehouses, farmers’ houses, towers, small bagli (farmsteads), and mills.

By the mid-19th century, it became a dormitory for workers employed in the winery of French prince Henri d’Orléans, Duke of Aumale, who came here to produce and market Moscatello dello Zucco. In the 1970s, the hamlet was completely abandoned and turned into a dumping ground. Ugliness became resident, and waste made it a place of little value.

In Sicily, every darkness holds within it a soul of light waiting to emerge—and this light was released by the creativity and desire for beauty of Giuseppe Gaglio.

The reborn village inspired by Catalan Modernism

To counter the abandonment that struck the hamlet in the mid-1970s, Giuseppe Gaglio devised a way to restore old houses, drawing inspiration from Antoni Gaudí, the great exponent of Catalan Modernism, but also from Mediterranean architectural traditions. His goal was to revive Sicilian hospitality and bring color and vitality back to a piece of Italy that should not be forgotten.

His passion for bringing beauty out of what was ugly inspired other homeowners in the hamlet to restore their houses as well. Today, several homes have been renovated, others are in progress, and the village remains a work in progress—every visit reveals something new.

What to See in the “Little Barcelona” of Palermo

The museum spaces are divided into four houses:

• The first is the former Jesuit church of Maria Santissima del Rosario, now deconsecrated, with a cultural center on the ground floor.
• The first floor has four rooms: one dedicated to Sicilian puppets (pupi siciliani) and three “dream rooms.”

The puppet room was designed by Giuseppe Gaglio and painted by cart painter Filippo Grillo and his assistant Alessandro Reale. Inside, you can admire the pupi siciliani from the collection of Vincenzo Garifo, puppeteer from Partinico. It offers a sensory journey back to the golden age of the Opera dei Pupi.

The three dream rooms represent the three phases of dreaming:

• The first, in Chagall’s style, represents deep REM sleep.
• The second, in Monet’s style, represents light sleep.
• The third, with an original style, represents awakening. Called the “Room of the Sun,” it is located in the kitchen, the most cheerful and sunny room in Sicilian homes.

The second structure, serving as an information point, is a small museum building on two levels with a panoramic terrace. The third and fourth museum spaces are the winter and summer houses of the farmers, decorated with works of Sicilian artists under Gaglio’s direction. The latter is a 1950s-style building with antique furnishings and various artworks, including a tribute to Franco Battiato with his song La Cura.

Where to Eat in Borgo Parrini

Despite its small size, the hamlet has three restaurants/pizzerias, an outdoor café, and the historic bakery “Zia Santa,” where you can taste the famous sfincione (a thick, soft pizza topped with onion sauce, a typical Sicilian street food) and pane cunzato (bread filled with caciocavallo cheese, tomato, and oregano), two specialties of western Sicily.

How to Get There

The easiest way to reach the hamlet is from the Partinico exit along the A29 Palermo–Trapani highway.

Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/bwasFaVrnW5CMwcF9