The Circolo dei Nobili on Via Atenea reopens: History, Rebirth, and a Cultural Project

Agrigento is preparing to experience an event of extraordinary cultural significance: the inauguration of the Circolo dei Nobili, founded in 1742, the second in Europe only after the one in London. Over the course of more than two centuries, during which we have progressed from horse-drawn carriages to interplanetary flights, through the revolution of 1848, the Bourbon and Savoy monarchies, and the Republic, the Circolo, always resistant to political pressure, upholds a single privilege—that of duty—and is constantly open to the needs of an increasingly modern Agrigento society. It has strived to be a place and a community of prestige and memory, a symbol of history, tradition, and identity, projecting Agrigento into a European context of excellence.

The Club was part of a context characterized by the presence of numerous aristocratic families who had built their palaces in the city's historic center. The Agrigento aristocracy included families who had the right to sit in the Sicilian Parliament of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, testifying to the political as well as social importance of these ruling groups. The history of the Agrigento Nobles' Club represents a significant example of how aristocratic social institutions have managed to evolve and adapt to historical changes, while maintaining their function as places of cultural and social gathering.

This story continues. The Club reopens after many years at Via Atenea 307, on the ground floor of an Art Nouveau building, following a long period of inactivity and neglect, during which the structure fell into serious disrepair. Now it is being given a new lease of life thanks to the project "Il Circolo Ritrovato – Memoria, Arte e Comunità al Circolo dei Nobili di Agrigento." It reopens thanks to the will and dedication of one of the few members still entitled to manage it, Giuseppe Zegretti (president), and his daughter Marialuisa. Together, they have already involved all the city's service clubs in a participatory and inclusive process, and soon also the cultural and social associations, as well as the professional associations.

They want the Circolo to become a vibrant hub of diverse experiences, skills, and perspectives, a bridge between the city's glorious past and its contemporary aspirations. The 19th-century aristocratic salon becomes a modern cultural center. The CCC (Contemporary Culture Center) is being established within the Circolo, with a scientific committee that will soon present an annual program of events, meetings, and conferences. This coming Saturday, September 27, at 10:30 a.m., a press conference will be held at the Church of Santa Sofia, in the foyer of the Teatro Pirandello in Agrigento, to announce the long-awaited reopening of the Circolo and to outline the first initiatives of the project "Il Circolo Ritrovato – Memoria, Arte e Comunità al Circolo dei Nobili di Agrigento" (The Rediscovered Circle – Memory, Art, and Community at the Circolo dei Nobili in Agrigento), curated by the Centro Cultura Contemporanee.

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