The hortus conclusus (fenced garden) is an open-air museum located within the former garden of the monastery of the Dominican Fathers and is a collection of important sculptural elements by the artist Domenico Paladino.
Mimmo Paladino, an important artist of international contemporary art, has harmoniously placed his works by creating a contrast with fragments of Roman columns, capitals and broken tympanums.
The works depicted are subject to various interpretations. The most significant are: a horse, with a golden mask on its face; an enormous disc, placed in the centre of the space; a figure with very long arms, acting as a fountain; a shell, a bell, a horse’s head, and a skull with long horns lying on lava stone.
In 2005, the museum was entirely restored under the supervision of Mimmo Paladino himself; the bronzes were cleaned and treated against corrosion, the greenery was cared for and the fountains reactivated.
The museum is partially accessible to the disabled.