Very impressing historical palace. Must see.

It really is a pity that even in the most popular tourist attractions nobody speaks English or any other language than Italian. On the tour of the palace and the prison you only see a fraction of the premises and the information is extremely scarce, you basically pay 8 euros for seeing some walls and ceilings without practically any information on spot.

We arrived at 955am on a monday morning and joined a 10am guided tour, which was included in the 8 Euro per person admission fee. The tour took about an hour, about 75% of which was spent in the inquisition cells. Very interesting and a worthy visit while in Palermo. Imagine what it would have been like to be one of those poor people locked up by the Inquisitor. Loved seeing the graffiti in the cell bathroom where the jailors didn't venture of s horse pooping on the grand inquisitor...

Having read some reviews, we made sure our tour (at 18:00) was conducted in both Italian and English--the folks behind the desk in the gift shop and outside the main entrance were very helpful in this regard! Antonio led us through the cells and other rooms of the Palazzo Chiaramonte and knowledgeably explained each stop in both English and Italian. He received questions in both languages and translated his responses so everyone could learn. We were a fairly small group (five visitors) and he let us take our time in each room, never making us feel rushed. We appreciated his charisma and expertise--this stop is well worth the price of admission (€8 per adult as of July 2023)! Though it did not detract from our experience, it's worth noting the tour goes up and down several flights of stairs.

Unfortunately disappointed. There's so much history from the the presented periods, especially the time of inquisition. However there were only showing a few cells with the wall drawings and paintings. There were empty cells which could have shown the conditions or replicas of common torture tools and devices, but they were empty. In these parts there were no English labels unfortunately and parts of the building where they were, it was not show. Then next room with the wooden ceiling was nice however the last part, exhibition of La Vucciria di Guttuso had little connection to the rest of the two places or it was lost in translation... The list could go on, like lack of utilities in the bathroom and so.

BREATHTAKING! Maybe the best museum I've seen in Palermo city. I read people before me who left a bad review, they definitely can't appreciate and didn't get the importance of this place during the Spanish inquisition. The old inquisition jail with the painting was the most amazing thing in the museum, you can clearly read the words written by prisoners in Latin, English, Italian and Sicilian during XVII century. I advice whoever is interested in visiting this museum to spend 10min to study the Spanish inquisition in Sicily before going there, after that you can really appreciate the magnificence of this place.

Nice area but not worth the money for those who just buy a single ticket. We bought the combo-ticket that included “Orto - Salinas - Steri”. The place can only be visited at designed tour entries depending on the scheduled time slots with a guide. The tour at five started late and the guide Antonio literally rushed to the end. Gave introductions in both English and Italian simultaneously . However, the English parts are short and hard to understand unlike his Italian parts. I’d recommend either let visitors freely visit or do have a proper English guide and don’t hold tours with both Italian and English simultaneously. Unless the guide his her English is at full professional working proficiency.

I would give zero if I could. Tour was sold in english but the guide did not speak a sentence that made sense. I was explicitely asking for a guided tour in english when we bought the tickets for 8 Eur each ! Signs on the way were mostly only in italian language.

Waste of time. You have to wait every round hour for a guided tour, but the guide does not speak English - so you end up walking with the Italian visitors without having any clue what's the history of the place. There's a ton of better museums in Palermo - don't waste your time here

The guided tour was in Italian and I didn't understand much. Anyway, this place is not that impressive, it was a waste of money for me.

Amazing historical palace which was used by the Palermitan inquisition. Guided Tours are held hourly and one has to go in with a tour

Don't bother unless you're bilingual. They'll sell you a tour, but won't specify the language ahead of time. Great graffiti, and absolutely no understanding of what it is and no way to get close enough to the guide to use Google translate.

Interesting place, but it's a bit unpleasant to visit if you are not an Italian speaker. The guide makes all presentations in Italian and the rooms aren't interesting enough on their own without a backstory. You can read details on the internet and see pictures - spare yourself 8 euros. The architecture isn't anymore special than other palaces in the area. Only thing worth seeing here is the painting La Vucciria. It's a nice one.

Combo ticket with the botanic garden. Nice castle with a tour every hour. Clear and informatic tour

Their online reservation system was out of order for several days. Since the information on their site weren't efficient, we called the day that we wanted to visit the Palazzo in order to clarify different things. Among others we asked if the tour was on English too, as it is written in their site , and we received a positive answer. We also asked about the scheduled tours of the day. When we arrived we were informed that the tour of 13:00 was full because a group had booked all places. So why when we called this morning you didn't tell us so? We booked the 14:00 tour. Our guide was Mrs. Ornella Ferro. Initially she was making the tour only on Italian. When I told her that we booked a tour on both English/Italian language she said that "no, only a few information will be in English". What bothered me was that although she was fluent in English, we were 12 foreigners and 4 Italians and she didn't even bother to ask if the rest we were understanding her. If we hadn't asked to talk on English too she wouldn't bother at all. It was more than obvious that she didn't like to give us a tour. The biggest part of the rooms with the drawings of the prisoners were closed but we weren't been informed earlier. In general, a really really bad experience. Contrary to this experience, a few days earlier we had an amazing guided tour in Benedictine monastery in Catania that belongs to the university of the city (like this palazzo belongs to Palermo university).

The Spanish inquisitions Sicilian jail, now part of Universita di Palermo. Well worth a tour which is guided. The prisoner cells are covered with drawings and writings made by those incarcerated. As a major port many nationalities were branded as heretics, including a Cornish fisherman, whose writing seems very contemporary. The museum also house Rene Guttuoso's painting of the now much diminished Vucciria Market. A magnificent painting The ticket also included entry to the Orto Botanico a short walk away.

Moving exploration of faith, cruelty, passion, and art. One of the best testaments remaining of the inquisition. Also features art from earlier and later periods of Sicilian life. Saw on combined ticket with archaeological museum and botanical garden.

Interesting place about the Spanish inquisition ,8 euros each the guide was in Italian but gave glimpses of English translation. The end part of the tour was to see the famous Palermo market painting which I wanted to see.

Interesting history of Sicily. Probably not interesting for kids. Combined tickets with Salinas & botanical gardens both worth it. Tours on the hour get there 10 min early. Bathroom also available.

I saw a lots of Museum so I wasnt sad to left. You can visit only with guide! And I was arrived at half past 2 and they had a time for 3 oclock. For theese havent got any time.

There was a very helpful team at the entrance and at the bookshop. And our guide Antonio did a very good job by explaining everything („La vucciria“, the wooden ceiling and the inquisition cells) in short and perfectly understandable italian and english words.

You can only visit this palace with a guide. The guide we had spoke abysmally bad English, we could only make out a few words of what he was saying. Even so, it's really not that interesting to visit. You will only visit some rooms with old graffitis and one big room of the palace.

Great museum and includes wonderful work of art. Highly recommended.

Great tour of the castle. The guide was friendly and answered all our questions with great detail. The theme is somber but definitely worth the visit. They offer tours in Italian, English and French. Recommended to book in advance

A great tour by our friendly and well informed guide Antonio. Very informative and interesting insight into the Spanish Inquisition in Palermo. Grazie Antonio!

Compelling. If you want to understand in a graphical manner a part of the important history of Sicily. Not only the graffiti are breathtaking and slam into the face personal stories of true people, but also the place is a jewel from the architectural point of view. Architect Scarpa (from Verona I believe) left here his trademark: he restored and made spaces pleasant to the eye, well playing light and materials. I left 4 stars because I wanted to stay more than the planned 50’ visit and understand more, however time was limited because of covid restrictions. I recommend to timely organise the visit and ask for a guide. Great treasure in Palermo.