Palotta, known as Il Palermitano, from his birthplace Palermo, studied at the Conservatorio di Sant'Onofrio a Porta Capuana in Naples, and by 1720 was known as a composer of sacred choral music.
[1][2] In Vienna, recommended by Johann Joseph Fux, Kapellmeister of the Hofmusikkapelle of Charles VI, he was appointed in 1733 as one of the court composers.
[1][2] Palotta produced Gregoriani cantus enucleata praxis et cognitio: this is a treatise on Guido d'Arezzo's Solmisation and an instruction book in church mode.
[1] The libraries of the Vienna Court chapel and the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde have since possessed a number of his masses in 4 to 8 parts, motets, and other works.
Carl Ferdinand Pohl wrote that they are "all written in a pure and elevated church style, the parts moving easily and naturally in spite of their elaborate counterpoint.