The palace is the headquarters of the Giuseppe Siotto Foundation, established in 1990 with the aim of fostering the study and dissemination of Sardinian history. Built in 1850, the building underwent a major renovation in 1927 designed by Eng. James Crespi. It has three facades, closing the head of the block in which the Cugia building is included. The most significant is the one in Genovesi Street, characterized by a wide portal, surmounted by a balcony. The building, which amalgamates ten partly rented units, is used by the Foundation only on the main floor, which is also furnished with furniture that belonged to 19th-century historian Giuseppe Manno, author of a seminal “History of Sardinia.” The Foundation holds important book collections, from the libraries of Giuseppe Siotto, Renzo Laconi, Francesco Accardo, and Girolamo Sotgiu, and rare volumes also dating back to the 1500s. In the Hall of Portraits and the Green Room, valuable paintings by Marghinotti, Figari, Morgari and the Piedmontese school of the 17th century can be admired. Also of notable importance is the archival fund, in which we highlight that of the Azienda agraria “Casa Siotto,” one of the most important on the island between the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century. Of documentary and historical importance is the period photographic collection depicting the Siotto family and company personnel. Finally, since 1999, the Foundation has been guarding General Luigi Accardo’s collection of weapons. As a result of recent building renovations of a space intended to host cultural events, a perfectly preserved cistern from the medieval period was found, possibly made by expanding a pre-existing cistern from the Roman era, incorporated into the foundation base of the building.
