The Museum was founded in 1980 to exhibit the art collections of the Banco di Sicilia. The first core of the heritage dates back to the late 1950s, when the Ministry of Public Education agreed to entrust the Banco di Sicilia with 320 pieces of various nature and origin, so that the restoration - and subsequent public exhibition - would serve to safeguard and enhance them appropriately.

The Museum offers evidence concerning the history of the island's civilization from Prehistory to the 20th century, collections of archaeology, majolica, numismatics, prints, philately and paintings. The neoclassical building that houses it is Villa Zito, built around the middle of the 18th century.