Ep. 2194 Massimo Valsecchi at Palazzo Butera | On The Road With Stevie Kim

Is trying to make, to help, Sicily, to be again, a great center of international exchanges, that has been until the eighteenth century. Because C City was the biggest island of the Mediterranean. They had everybody has been here. All the people from, the far east, from Africa, from the north, from and was the biggest center of international exchanges. Welcome to another episode of On the Road Edition. Hosted by Stevie Kim. Each week, Stevie travels to incredible wine destinations interviewing some of the Italian wine scene's most interesting personalities, talking about wines, the foods as well as the incredible travel destinations. Okay. So welcome to the heart of Sicily. And here, I am here with Professor Masimo Valseki, and he is the owner of this amazing amazing palace, which is called Palazzo de Butera. Is that correct? Yes. Because of the Prince of Butera was the first title of the sicilian kingdom. And so five hundred years ago was the only prince and he made this, in front of the sea in, the seventeenth century as the new palace, facing the kings that they were arriving from outside. And so the kings, they should recognize the importance of the Prince of Boutera that was, of the Brunchy fart family. So they build it. This gigantic, sort of, wall in front of the sea attached to the seaside, the entrance, for the city and the other entrance is, the mountain, that is a Portanwava. This is Porta Felice, and Portanwava is, the Royal Palace, and so towards, the Emperor that was So Marielle was the emperor. The Portanwawa was the kings, and, the Porta Felicje with this gigantic wall built in from of the historic city center that, so the seed disappeared suddenly. And so that's why, the palace is important. It's important because there was a the manifestation of the most important to family in the seventeenth century that they they were the first title of the kingdom. And the palace was the bigger palace, at the time because, they reunited five palaces and they made it into just one. So so, you know, this is my first time here coming to the palace. And as soon as I enter, I saw on the wall at the entrance, then it says, if I can't remember. Memory? History. History and time. Can you just tell me what that means? This means is a work of a two contemporary artist that they are French Ekada Mission in France, and they made, especially this work for, the courtyards, of, Parisa, has a kind of, talking about the importance of, the memory of the past, the fragility of the past, the history of the past, and the time, that needs to go towards the future. And, and so is, a work of art that it's trying to make a link between, you know, the past, the present, and the future that, Palazzo Bupera is trying to make to help Sicily to be again, a great center of international exchanges that has been, until the eighteenth century because Sicily was the biggest island of the Mediterranean. They had everybody has been here all the people from, the far east, from Africa, from the north, from, and there was the biggest center of international exchanges, and probably is, what's the city is becoming again because now, again, from China, from Africa, from the Middle East, so the way how to go into Europe is to also come by, sicily. Coming through sicily. So, you know, you're actually not originally sicily in? No. I've never been to sicily in my life. And so how did how did you What were you thinking when you? No. I came here just to do a project for the university. Mhmm. And making the project for university, director of the university said, but this is a unique opportunity to make project for, regeneration and the re qualification of this neighborhood that is the oldest, definition that were here, the Greek, the Roman, the Muslim, the Jewish, the Spanish, the the the the Normans, so everybody has been here in this, that is the oldest, part of a palermo because it was, like the people arriving, they were landing here. The harbor is just at the end of the palace. And, and so the idea was to use history culture and art as a way, a faster way or a more open way to, regenerate and to bring back this neighborhood at the center of the life of Palermo that unluckily after the bombing, on the second world war, everything passed into the new, Palermo that is being built at the end of the nineteenth century. So it's like the new city and the old city went down. And the problem is try to revitalize all the history and all the the great, thousand and thousand of years, of history because the finish when they were here, like, six thousand years, before, and then, the Roman, and then, the Greek, and then, so everybody. And so is, is a project to use art as a tool of, making something, with an idea for the future link with, what is the so rich, all the contamination and all, the stratification of, what you can see. You're just to look around and you see the history of the world. And so it's, that's that's the project. So, for first, I would say for anyone who like to who are planning to visit Palazzo Butera, How should they organize their visit? Well, the visit is And what should they expect? The the visit, well, they, probably they expect, they don't know what to expect. Also, because the palace is too big. And so that's why, there is a little of everything. So there is, a little of the history, of sicily. There is a little of the international history of every country. So China, Japan, Africa, Africa, Zulu, or ife, or or Middle East, or the or the, orientals, so there is, is, like, a possibility to do a travel on the history that for thousands of years, has been the history of, sicily. And, you see it, in a kind of exchange with the contemporary side. That that it's what is making the, let's say, it's a laboratory of ideas, to bring more, not to the memory of the past, but the use of the present, to produce a better future. Okay. Well, thank you so much for bringing us to bringing welcoming us to your home because this is also where you live. This is your permanent residence now. Right? I am in prison here. So I don't know. He's, and, actually, he's, he's a he's a chosen person. Right. Right. And so he's, I try to make, a, a more interesting, kind of a strange, possibility for, having, a prison. But is a prison because, because the project is, complicated, is a project that it's not about, but the specialty is a project to bring back these thousand and thousand and thousand of year of history that if they stay as a frozen, memory, it's just, too bad. And so the idea is to open up to the exchanges, from people that they come from outside, and they can make up their minds, what they if they are interested in nature, if they are interested the sea side, if they are interested on, the the, the fantastic, like, life quality, in sicily, because I think that there is no better place, you have a a better possibility to, to have a very pleasant lifestyle in a very, human and very carefully, So it's, it's there is nothing in in Sicily that is, complicated. Okay. Well, I think you are a true ambassador of Sicily. It sounds like you are a prisoner of love more than anything else. Love, for sisley? Yes. So, prisoner of ideas and projects, and projects that they make, the future has the most important and not just always bending, into the past. Okay. And so it's, here, there is a lot of potential in Sicily. You have a lot of, young people that they dream to, to do things in their sort of, home country. And then luckily in the last two hundred and fifty or three hundred years, they had to go outside to have a good possibilities, to be more international. Yeah. New opportunities. So what, it will be very important is to make again international, the sicilian life. Okay. Well, I think that's a good way to close-up and that's a wrap with the prisoner of love. You have a new title. New title. Mister Vaseky. Don't forget about the butera. Yeah. Don't forget about Patera. Prisonor of love. Yes. Prisonor of love. From reporting from Palermo, the heart and of course the capital of Sicily. See. Thank you for joining us on another episode of On The Road Edition, hosted by Stevie Kim. Join her again next week for more interesting content on the Italian wine scene. You can also find us at Italian wine podcast dot com or wherever you get your pods. You can check out our YouTube channel, mama jumbo shrimp to watch these interviews and the footage captured at each location. Changing.