History

The villa was commissioned in 1926 to the Engineer and Architect Paolo Lanzerotti by the lawyer Paolo Zingali Tetto, who lived there until his death in 1969. The lawyer, a bachelor without children, arranged upon his death for his most substantial bequests to go to the orphanage of Castiglione di Sicilia and the University of Catania. The Villa, and part of its contents, were left by will to the University of Catania as the Rector's free residence pro tempore, without however him actually settling there.

In 1975 the University came into full possession of the Villa, initially establishing itself on the main floor, where the reception rooms and the master bedroom are located, the headquarters of the Opera Universitaria management and, subsequently, on the mezzanine floor the Catania Research Consortium (CCR), currently the Library and Documentation Center (CBD).

It was only in 1996, as part of the Catania-Lecce Coordinated Project, that the decision was made to repurpose the building for cultural use and establish it as the seat of the Museo della Rappresentazione. Funding was then allocated for the restoration and functional adaptation of the villa to serve as both a Laboratory and a Museo della Rappresentazione. In 1999, work began based on a project by the University's Technical Office, under the direction of Professor Piera Busacca. After a few years of initial operation, the structure was reacquired by the University and remained inactive until 2016. In that year, with the goal of organizing the 22 museums belonging to individual departments of the University of Catania, the University Museum System (SiMuA) was established. Since 2016, the Villa has been part of the Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture (DICAr) of the University.

In 2016, under the scientific responsibility of Professor Mariateresa Galizia and the new Scientific Committee, composed of professors from the DICAr, a new operational framework was planned and new actions to be carried out on these premises were outlined, related to the University's cultural heritage and the collections held in the museum.

The mission of the MuRa is to provide a place for the dissemination of cultural content, through the introduction of innovative technologies and practical laboratories aimed at the repurposing and communication of the University's and the region's historical, scientific, and cultural heritage.

The MuRa aims to be a space where ideas, experiences, and research are born, transferring knowledge to civil society through an iterative university-economy-society process and four key actions: enhancement, training, promotion, and recognition.