Guidebook for Palermo

Arab-Norman Route

The buildings constituting the property of ‘Arab-Norman Palermo and the Cathedrals of Cefalù and Monreale’ is a material example of coexistence, interaction and interchange between different cultural components of historical and geographic heterogeneous origin. This syncretism has generated an original architectural and artistic style, of exceptional universal value, in which Byzantine, Islamic and Latin elements are admirably fused, capable each time to be produced unique combinations of exceptional artistic value and extraordinarily unitary. The Arab-Norman syncretism had a strong impact in the Middle Ages, significantly contributing to the formation of a Mediterranean koinè, a fundamental condition for the development of modern Mediterranean-European civilization.

Norman Palace

The Royal Palace of Palermo (11th-12th centuries) is the main monument to represent the wealth and political and cultural power of the Norman kingdom, a model of Arab-Norman architecture. An ancient Islamic Castrum erected on pre-existing Punic origins, from 1072 it became the residence of the Norman sovereigns. Its Torre Pisana (second quarter of the 12th century) is a unique example of a fortified tower, similar to those of the Norman donjon, whose plan is similar to ifriqeni Islamic models. La Joharia (mid-12th century) includes Sala dei Venti and Sala di Ruggero. The Sala dei Venti, or of the four columns, derives its architecture from the durqa'a, the inner courtyard of the Islamic ifriqeni and Fatimid palaces. It is preserved intact and is in fact one of the best preserved examples of this architectural typology in the medieval Mediterranean. Sala di Ruggero is characterized by impressive mosaics that cover the walls and the cross vault with profane, hunting and paradisiac scenes. The mosaics of Stanza di Ruggero, together with the fragments preserved in the Pisan Tower and the mosaic panel of Sala della Fontana in Palazzo della Zisa, are rare examples of profane decorations, distinguished by the significant presence of figurative elements derived from Islamic and Sassanid culture.. A widespread genre in the Byzantine courtly world of which today there are no traces except in historical sources.

494 recommandé par les habitants

Norman Palace

1 Piazza del Parlamento

494 recommandé par les habitants

The Royal Palace of Palermo (11th-12th centuries) is the main monument to represent the wealth and political and cultural power of the Norman kingdom, a model of Arab-Norman architecture. An ancient Islamic Castrum erected on pre-existing Punic origins, from 1072 it became the residence of the Norman sovereigns. Its Torre Pisana (second quarter of the 12th century) is a unique example of a fortified tower, similar to those of the Norman donjon, whose plan is similar to ifriqeni Islamic models. La Joharia (mid-12th century) includes Sala dei Venti and Sala di Ruggero. The Sala dei Venti, or of the four columns, derives its architecture from the durqa'a, the inner courtyard of the Islamic ifriqeni and Fatimid palaces. It is preserved intact and is in fact one of the best preserved examples of this architectural typology in the medieval Mediterranean. Sala di Ruggero is characterized by impressive mosaics that cover the walls and the cross vault with profane, hunting and paradisiac scenes. The mosaics of Stanza di Ruggero, together with the fragments preserved in the Pisan Tower and the mosaic panel of Sala della Fontana in Palazzo della Zisa, are rare examples of profane decorations, distinguished by the significant presence of figurative elements derived from Islamic and Sassanid culture.. A widespread genre in the Byzantine courtly world of which today there are no traces except in historical sources.

Chapelle Palatine

The Palatine Chapel, founded in 1130, was according to Guy de Maupassant: “the most surprising religious jewel of human thought and created by an artist.”. It represents the non plus ultra of the cultural and artistic syncretism generated in the Norman Palermo, with the Byzantine mosaics, the opus sectile floor of Byzantine and Romanesque origin, declined according to Islamic ornamental models, the wooden muqarnas ceiling with Islamic paintings represent an unique exemplary of the Mediterranean Middle Ages and of the history of universal art. Its Byzantine mosaics are among the most important and best preserved of the Comnen period in the Mediterranean basin and the most ancient made in the Arab-Norman Sicily. One of its kind is the muqarnas ceiling of the central nave. It is currently the oldest testimony in the world (c. 1143)of such a well preserved wooden muqarnas ceiling. The Palatine Chapel has a basilica plant with three naves, a triabsidated and domed presbytery, of Byzantine origin. The mosaics that decorate its walls are also Byzantine.Those that cover the walls of the presbytery area date back to the Ruggerian era. Instead those with stories of the New and the Old Testament and of Saints Peter and Paul, which are found on the walls of the three naves of the longitudinal body, can be dated to the years of William I. Finally, those of the western wall are attributed to William II (1166-1189). The treasure of the Palatine Chapel contains numerous sacred objects, among which the collection of Arab-Sicilian ivory caskets, including engraved decorations caskets, painted caskets, sculpted caskets and an exceptional example of an inlaid casket, called “encrusted box,” presumably made by artisans from Fatimid Egypt (late 12th century). The “Lower Chapel” presumably constitutes the original sacred building erected by Roberto il Guiscardo after the taking of Palermo (1072).

359 recommandé par les habitants

Chapelle Palatine

1 Piazza del Parlamento

359 recommandé par les habitants

The Palatine Chapel, founded in 1130, was according to Guy de Maupassant: “the most surprising religious jewel of human thought and created by an artist.”. It represents the non plus ultra of the cultural and artistic syncretism generated in the Norman Palermo, with the Byzantine mosaics, the opus sectile floor of Byzantine and Romanesque origin, declined according to Islamic ornamental models, the wooden muqarnas ceiling with Islamic paintings represent an unique exemplary of the Mediterranean Middle Ages and of the history of universal art. Its Byzantine mosaics are among the most important and best preserved of the Comnen period in the Mediterranean basin and the most ancient made in the Arab-Norman Sicily. One of its kind is the muqarnas ceiling of the central nave. It is currently the oldest testimony in the world (c. 1143)of such a well preserved wooden muqarnas ceiling. The Palatine Chapel has a basilica plant with three naves, a triabsidated and domed presbytery, of Byzantine origin. The mosaics that decorate its walls are also Byzantine.Those that cover the walls of the presbytery area date back to the Ruggerian era. Instead those with stories of the New and the Old Testament and of Saints Peter and Paul, which are found on the walls of the three naves of the longitudinal body, can be dated to the years of William I. Finally, those of the western wall are attributed to William II (1166-1189). The treasure of the Palatine Chapel contains numerous sacred objects, among which the collection of Arab-Sicilian ivory caskets, including engraved decorations caskets, painted caskets, sculpted caskets and an exceptional example of an inlaid casket, called “encrusted box,” presumably made by artisans from Fatimid Egypt (late 12th century). The “Lower Chapel” presumably constitutes the original sacred building erected by Roberto il Guiscardo after the taking of Palermo (1072).

Cathédrale de Palerme

The Cathedral of Palermo was founded by Gualtiero Offamilio, archbishop of the town from 1169 to 1190. It was a mosque in Islamic times and converted into a cathedral church by Roberto the Guiscardo after the conquest of Palermo. Its exclusive elements are the inlays and the architectural and sculptural plastic that reflects the penetration of Romanic art and the first Gothic decorative taste in Sicily, expanding the spectrum of the Arab-Norman syncretism with new elements in an original and multiple composition and exhibition of the Mediterranean arts. The building underwent a late-eighteenth-century renovation carried out on a project by Ferdinando Fuga. This period dates back to the Norman-Swabian royal and imperial sarcophagi in the first two chapels of the right aisle, where the remains of Roger II and his daughter Constance, of Emperor Henry VI, of Frederick II and his wife Costanza D’Aragona are preserved.

746 recommandé par les habitants

Cathédrale de Palerme

490 Via Vittorio Emanuele

746 recommandé par les habitants

The Cathedral of Palermo was founded by Gualtiero Offamilio, archbishop of the town from 1169 to 1190. It was a mosque in Islamic times and converted into a cathedral church by Roberto the Guiscardo after the conquest of Palermo. Its exclusive elements are the inlays and the architectural and sculptural plastic that reflects the penetration of Romanic art and the first Gothic decorative taste in Sicily, expanding the spectrum of the Arab-Norman syncretism with new elements in an original and multiple composition and exhibition of the Mediterranean arts. The building underwent a late-eighteenth-century renovation carried out on a project by Ferdinando Fuga. This period dates back to the Norman-Swabian royal and imperial sarcophagi in the first two chapels of the right aisle, where the remains of Roger II and his daughter Constance, of Emperor Henry VI, of Frederick II and his wife Costanza D’Aragona are preserved.

San Giovanni degli Eremiti

The monumental complex of San Giovanni degli Eremiti (first half of the 12th century) includes the church with the cloister – as part of the monastery founded by Ruggero II around 1132 – and the “Arabian Hall” with a rectangular plan, a passage from a mosque of the X century. The church has a stereometry that alternates compact blocks and a complex system of dome roofing. The interior, without decorations, shows the bare stone and is characterized by the presence of angular niche joints with multiple degrading rings that give a unique and emblematic character to the monument. The cloister, with a rectangular plan, dating back to the late Norman period, is characterized by the succession of twin columns with capitals of acanthus leaves surmounted by pointed arches.

155 recommandé par les habitants

San Giovanni degli Eremiti

16 Via dei Benedettini

155 recommandé par les habitants

The monumental complex of San Giovanni degli Eremiti (first half of the 12th century) includes the church with the cloister – as part of the monastery founded by Ruggero II around 1132 – and the “Arabian Hall” with a rectangular plan, a passage from a mosque of the X century. The church has a stereometry that alternates compact blocks and a complex system of dome roofing. The interior, without decorations, shows the bare stone and is characterized by the presence of angular niche joints with multiple degrading rings that give a unique and emblematic character to the monument. The cloister, with a rectangular plan, dating back to the late Norman period, is characterized by the succession of twin columns with capitals of acanthus leaves surmounted by pointed arches.

Santa Maria dell'Ammiraglio (La Martorana)

The Church of Santa Maria dell’Ammiraglio, founded around 1140, was born as a private chapel dedicated to the Virgin and is the symbol of the purity of the Orthodox Byzantine genius. The Norman period plant is characterized by a Greek cross plan inscribed in a square and surmounted by a dome in the middle. Inside, the church is adorned with Byzantine mosaics made between 1143 and 1148, among the most amazing in the panorama of the production of the Comnena period, whose iconographic conception reflects the commission of Admiral Giorgio d’Antiochia, an extraordinary personality; he spoke Arab and Greek and belonged to the Byzantine-Orthodox church.

342 recommandé par les habitants

Santa Maria dell'Ammiraglio (La Martorana)

3 Piazza Bellini

342 recommandé par les habitants

The Church of Santa Maria dell’Ammiraglio, founded around 1140, was born as a private chapel dedicated to the Virgin and is the symbol of the purity of the Orthodox Byzantine genius. The Norman period plant is characterized by a Greek cross plan inscribed in a square and surmounted by a dome in the middle. Inside, the church is adorned with Byzantine mosaics made between 1143 and 1148, among the most amazing in the panorama of the production of the Comnena period, whose iconographic conception reflects the commission of Admiral Giorgio d’Antiochia, an extraordinary personality; he spoke Arab and Greek and belonged to the Byzantine-Orthodox church.

Église de San Cataldo

The Church of San Cataldo (1160 ca.) stands next to the church of Santa Maria dell’Ammiraglio and together with it is a monumental complex of strong attractiveness. Unlike San Giovanni degli Eremiti, which is a single hall, the church of San Cataldo has a basilica body with four columns. Through Islamic stereometrics, the use of three domes on the central axis and barrel vaults on the side bays, it translates the model of the basilica church with an original language. The absence of internal coverings makes it possible to better appreciate the architecture, the walls, the articulation of the vaults and the domes.

105 recommandé par les habitants

Église de San Cataldo

1 Piazza Bellini

105 recommandé par les habitants

The Church of San Cataldo (1160 ca.) stands next to the church of Santa Maria dell’Ammiraglio and together with it is a monumental complex of strong attractiveness. Unlike San Giovanni degli Eremiti, which is a single hall, the church of San Cataldo has a basilica body with four columns. Through Islamic stereometrics, the use of three domes on the central axis and barrel vaults on the side bays, it translates the model of the basilica church with an original language. The absence of internal coverings makes it possible to better appreciate the architecture, the walls, the articulation of the vaults and the domes.

Le Château de la Zisa

The Zisa palace (from the Arabic al-Azīz, or “the splendid”) was outside the walls of the ancient town of Palermo, inside the Genoardo (from the Arabic Jannat al-ar or “garden or paradise on the earth”) of which it is the most important and representative monument. With its building peculiarities and its crystalline forms, it refracts the lights of the ifriqena architecture and constitutes the best preserved model of the Arab-Norman architecture. William I began to build it in 1165 and his successor William II completed it. To enrich the palace is the Sala della Fontana located on the ground floor of the building, embellished with profane mosaics and muqarnas vaults. In addition to the fishing pond in front of the complex, there was also a coeval small and precious chapel.

212 recommandé par les habitants

Le Château de la Zisa

Piazza Zisa

212 recommandé par les habitants

The Zisa palace (from the Arabic al-Azīz, or “the splendid”) was outside the walls of the ancient town of Palermo, inside the Genoardo (from the Arabic Jannat al-ar or “garden or paradise on the earth”) of which it is the most important and representative monument. With its building peculiarities and its crystalline forms, it refracts the lights of the ifriqena architecture and constitutes the best preserved model of the Arab-Norman architecture. William I began to build it in 1165 and his successor William II completed it. To enrich the palace is the Sala della Fontana located on the ground floor of the building, embellished with profane mosaics and muqarnas vaults. In addition to the fishing pond in front of the complex, there was also a coeval small and precious chapel.

Cathédrale de Monreale

The Cathedral of Monreale, founded by William II in 1172 and dedicated to Santa Maria Nuova houses the largest mosaic decoration (over 6,000 square meters) of the entire production of the Mediterranean basin, performed by Byzantine workers, with vetero stories and new Testamentaries and the Christ Pantocrator in the apse. The plant, like the great Cistercian and Cluniac Romanesque cathedrals, follows the model of the Cathedral of Cefalù. The use of bichrome inlays in lava stone, recessed niches with rings, braided arches and chevron enriches the walls of the external façades and the apses, highlighting the architectural ribs. On the right side of the presbytery, there are the sarcophagus in porphyry of Guglielmo I and the marble one of Guglielmo II. The Cathedral is next to the cloister of the ancient Benedictine monastery characterized by arcades with ogival arches with double arches, supported by twin columns, alternately decorated with mosaics. The sculptural plastic of the capitals, engraved with biblical scenes, is a surprising and original example of Romanesque-Mediterranean art, where there is a mixture of formal and ornamental elements with a classic flavor and Gothic elements of Provençal taste.

237 recommandé par les habitants

Cathédrale de Monreale

1 Piazza Guglielmo II

237 recommandé par les habitants

The Cathedral of Monreale, founded by William II in 1172 and dedicated to Santa Maria Nuova houses the largest mosaic decoration (over 6,000 square meters) of the entire production of the Mediterranean basin, performed by Byzantine workers, with vetero stories and new Testamentaries and the Christ Pantocrator in the apse. The plant, like the great Cistercian and Cluniac Romanesque cathedrals, follows the model of the Cathedral of Cefalù. The use of bichrome inlays in lava stone, recessed niches with rings, braided arches and chevron enriches the walls of the external façades and the apses, highlighting the architectural ribs. On the right side of the presbytery, there are the sarcophagus in porphyry of Guglielmo I and the marble one of Guglielmo II. The Cathedral is next to the cloister of the ancient Benedictine monastery characterized by arcades with ogival arches with double arches, supported by twin columns, alternately decorated with mosaics. The sculptural plastic of the capitals, engraved with biblical scenes, is a surprising and original example of Romanesque-Mediterranean art, where there is a mixture of formal and ornamental elements with a classic flavor and Gothic elements of Provençal taste.

Cathédrale de Cefalù

The Cathedral of Cefalù (1131) is the bulwark of the ecclesiastical policy of Roger II in Sicily. This is its unique character. In its building site, workers from across the Alps were involved, who originally shaped the monumental features of the Cluniac Romanesque style. The Cathedral was intended as a burial place for the king and his successors. The façade is framed by two mighty towers, lightened by elegant mullioned windows and single lancet windows. The interior, a Latin cross, is divided into three naves and has a particularly high transept. The mosaic decoration that covers the walls of the presbytery, with the large central apse where the imposing figure of the Pantocrator stands out, was created by the first teams from Constantinople by 1148. Byzantine art scholars, such as Viktor Lazarev, classified it excellent and very well preserved. Annexed to the Cathedral there is the elegant cloister with twin columns surmounted by figured capitals. It represents one of the most remarkable examples of Romanesque sculpture in Sicily.

185 recommandé par les habitants

Cathédrale de Cefalù

Piazza del Duomo

185 recommandé par les habitants

The Cathedral of Cefalù (1131) is the bulwark of the ecclesiastical policy of Roger II in Sicily. This is its unique character. In its building site, workers from across the Alps were involved, who originally shaped the monumental features of the Cluniac Romanesque style. The Cathedral was intended as a burial place for the king and his successors. The façade is framed by two mighty towers, lightened by elegant mullioned windows and single lancet windows. The interior, a Latin cross, is divided into three naves and has a particularly high transept. The mosaic decoration that covers the walls of the presbytery, with the large central apse where the imposing figure of the Pantocrator stands out, was created by the first teams from Constantinople by 1148. Byzantine art scholars, such as Viktor Lazarev, classified it excellent and very well preserved. Annexed to the Cathedral there is the elegant cloister with twin columns surmounted by figured capitals. It represents one of the most remarkable examples of Romanesque sculpture in Sicily.