Our History
The bed&breakfast 4 Quarti is part of an ancient, noble house and it was built in 1555 by Don Gilberto Bologni, marquis of Marineo, one of the most important protagonists of the Sicilian politics. Later, the sumptuous house belonged to the Princes Castelnuovo and they enriched its rooms with precious frescos and plasters created by the most famous Sicilian painters of the XVIII century. During the years some important people have lodged in this house, such as Don John of Austria, winner of the battle of Lepanto. From 1769 to 1772 the nobleman and judge of the Corte Pretoriana Caccamisi rented a part of the palace and, in this period, the first centre of the circle “The conversation of the nobility” (today known as Circle Bellini) was created in the house. Its beautiful rooms were named even by an important Sicilian historian, the Marquis of Villabianca. Later, in 1874, the house was bought by Giuseppe Arone and he gave it to his grandson Francesco Arone who married Madame Marianna Lanza Filangeri of the Princes Mirto. After some generations, today the palace belongs to Bernardo Arone of Valentino and to his family. They have always lived in this house and they have taken care of it. The wood coffered ceilings are painted with flowers and landscapes and the living-rooms are tastefully frescoed with biblical scenes. The family Arone take care of their historical house as precious attestation of a unique artistic and cultural beauty, for continuing its tradition between past and present.