Research rooms 

Soprintendenza Archivistica della Sicilia – Archivio di Stato Palermo has three Research rooms: 

  • Sala Catena and sala Gancia, to consult records held in each site; 
  • Sezione of Termini Imerese, ruled by specific terms of service. See “Sezione di Termini Imerese” 

All the users must follow the Rules of Conduct and Guidelines to access in the State Archives. See at the bottom of this page. Consultation of archival units must follow the “Guidelines for handling archival material”, available in each Research room. 

Annual admission

To be admitted in our Research rooms, it’s necessary to send an admission form for each site. 

Admission card is valid through the end of the current calendar year. 

Admission forms are available in the Research rooms and online, on the institutional website (Modulisticasezione Archivio di Stato). All the admission forms must be completed in all parts, signed and with an ID copy attached. If sent by e-mail, all the files must be in .pdf format.    

Catena and Gancia Research room 

Reserving a spot 

Spot reservation is required. It’s possible to reserve a spot by using our online reservation platform only. 

Contacts

Our service managers may help you with your research: 

Numbers of users admitted in Research room 

  • 12 users for Gancia site 
  • 10 users for Catena site  

Opening time

Ordinary hours

Research rooms are open: 

  • Monday, Friday: from 8 am to 3 pm. 
  • Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday: from 8 am to 5 pm 

Reduced hours

In August, during Christmas and Easter times early closing will be at 1.30 pm. During these periods, the Research rooms will be closed on Saturdays.  

Records excluded from consultation temporarily 

Before sending a reservation enquiry, please consult the list of records excluded from consultation temporarily.

Visit Fondi temporaneamente esclusi dalla consultazione.  

Remote access to declassified records 

In the State Archives of Palermo, it’s possible to consult the declassified records of the Archivio Centrale dello Stato (State Central Archives) remotely, according to the Direttive Prodi (2008) and Renzi (2014). The service is available, on request, in both Research rooms Catena and Gancia.

For further information, visit Documentazione declassificata.  

Carto-iconographic records

Carto-iconographic records, mentioned in catalogues n° 6/a – 6/b and previously held in the Gancia site, can now be consulted in the Ufficio Iconografico (Iconography office), located in the Catena site. Today, the mentioned catalogues are still valid and available.  

For further information: saas-sipa.ufficioiconografico@cultura.gov.it

Useful information

Research room Rules 01-10-2024 [Italian version only]

Research room Rules 08-09-2023  [Italian and English version]

Regole deontologiche per il trattamento a fini di archiviazione nel pubblico interesse o per scopi di ricerca storica [Italian version only]

Guidelines for handling archival material [Italian and English version]  

[2024 ed. FG, tr. GG] 

Ultima modifica: 19 Novembre 2024