Overview
Located in Piazza Archimede, the beating heart of Syracuse, the Palazzo dell'Orologio takes its name from the mechanical clock perched on its façade. The palace is a 15th-century building, renovated during the 1950s, and runs the length of one side of Piazza Archimede.
The clock was placed on the frontage on 12 April 1882. Following the bombings of 1943, the building was seriously damaged and was then extended and renovated after the war. Today, the façade has a main archway fronted by a beautiful wrought-iron rail, below a stone balcony with a triple mullioned window. Above this, you can see the mechanical clock made in the late 19th century.
To each side there are neat rows of balconies, while the ground floor of the building is home to the Banco di Sicilia, the bank which gave the building its other name. Inside the building there is a small courtyard where you can admire heraldic sculptures and a Catalan-style staircase, still in its original condition.
