The Bastione dello Spasimo was explicitly constructed in Palermo during the first half of the 16th century to protect the city against growing enemy attacks from the sea.
A military construction specialist named Antonio Ferramolino was hired in 1536 by the Viceroy of Sicily to design a structure that would strengthen the current observation system along the coast and be able to withstand enemy cannon strikes. Thus, the Bastione dello Spasimo was built, one of the most important landmarks in Palermo’s history.
As it evolved over the centuries, the structure was used for various activities, including a spice warehouse and a Sicilian cart factory.
Constructed in 1536 in the heart of Palermo’s Piazza Magione, the Bastione dello Spasimo remains one of the most well-preserved and exquisite examples of mixed, earth masonry shelters.

The Bastion gets the name Spasimo from the monastery of the same name built by the Olivetan Benedictine fathers in 1509 and incorporated into the fortification for construction purposes.
Today, the Bastione dello Spasimo is one of the few bastions still intact that retains its original form. Its “catoi”, i.e. the inlets within the stone wall, were preserved in the restoration process and subsequently converted into rooms with maximum comfort, thus creating the Bastione Spasimo Boutique Hotel.
Bastione Spasimo Boutique Hotel has several luxury rooms, some on the ground floor carved out of the stone within the Bastion itself and others on the first floor of the building built in the early 1900s with a splendid view.