Important urban episode linked to the role of the bishops in the transformation of the city
The foundation of palazzo Candida dates back to the second half of the sixteenth century, when the family of the namesake Syracusan bishop followed him to Gerace, after his appointment in 1552. The building has two floors and is located in a privileged position along the ancient Via Maestra, which connected the cathedral to Piazza del Tocco, defined a century earlier by Bishop Atanasio Chalkeopoulos as the "civic curia" of the city. The perimeter of the residence is quite complex, with the main rooms distributed around a courtyard with a front portico and loggia, probably as a result of the progressive incorporation of adjacent buildings. This process gave rise to an urban episode of particular importance, represented by the lowered barrel-vaulted passage, which leads from the main street to a side path oriented towards the church of San Francesco d'Assisi. The shape of the stone frames of the openings on the main floor and the presence of small balconies reveal a probable renovation of the sides of the building in the 18th century, probably after the 1783 earthquake.