The Institute

Soprintendenza Archivistica della Sicilia – Archivio di Stato Palermo (SAAS-SIPA) is a branch of the Ministero della Cultura (Ministry of Culture – MiC), under the Direzione Generale Archivi (General Administration of the State Archives) resulting from the union of two different Institutions active in Sicily.

In Sicily, the Archival Soprintendente is also the Director of the State Archives of Palermo, the capital city. (D.P.C.M. 29 agosto 2014, n. 171 – Regolamento di organizzazione del Ministero dei beni e delle attività culturali e del turismo e D.M. 27 novembre 2014, art. 3). 

Soprintendenza Archivistica della Sicilia 

The main role of the Soprintendenza Archivistica della Sicilia (Archival Superintendency of Sicily) is to protect the archival heritage from all over the Sicilian region, including public and private archives and records, recognized as having particular historical interest. 

Amongst the duties of the Soprintendenza, there are also the monitoring of the trading of archival records and the promotion and enhancement of archival heritage, in cooperation with the Sicilian government, other local authorities and all the public and private subjects interested in it.  

Visit Archivi vigilati (supervised archives) and Cosa fare per (what to do for) (Italian version only)

Archivio di Stato di Palermo

The Archivio di Stato di Palermo (State Archives of Palermo) holds and preserves records of the ancient magistracies of the Kingdom of Sicily, with Palermo as capital city; archives produced by the local State offices and former public offices; archives of notaries who ceased practicing at least a hundred years ago. It is also possible to find archival records made by the suppressed religious corporations, whose assets were confiscated by the Government at the time; private archives of Sicilian noble families, individuals, companies and institutions, acquired over the years in various capacities.     

Visit Patrimonio archivistico (Archival Heritage)

In addition to the preservation duty, the State Archives has the task of arranging the archival collections and creating archival access tools to allow records consultation. The Institute offers many specific services, including assisting users with their research and making research by mail. It also promotes the value of archival heritage and deliver educational services.  

Visit Servizi al Pubblico (Services to the public)

School of Archival Studies, Paleography and Diplomatic 

The Institute is the site of the Scuola di Archivistica, Paleografia e Diplomatica (School of Archival Studies, Palaeography and Diplomatic), one of the seventeen schools established in the main Italian State Archives. The School provides professional training for archivists. 

See Scuola APD (Italian version only)

The sites 

Today, the Institute has two different sites, located in the city centre, and the Sezione of Termini Imerese (branch of the State Archives). 

• La sede Catena (Catena Headquarters) 
• La sede Gancia (Gancia site)
• La Sezione di Termini Imerese (Italian version only)

Opening time 

Working schedule: 

Monday, Friday: 7.30 – 3.30 pm 

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday: 7.30 – 5.00 pm 

Opening time Research room: 

Visit Sale di studio (Research room)

[2024 ed. FG, tr. GG]

Ultima modifica: 21 Febbraio 2024