May 2007 - Palermo, Italy - Arab, Norman & Baroque Architecture

Although Palermo prospered under the Romans, its golden age was under Arab (800 - 1100 A.D.) and Norman (1100 - 1280 A.D.) domination, when it rivaled Cordoba, Spain and Cairo, Egypt in beauty. Consequently, the most interesting art and architecture in the city primarily date back to those time periods. The other noteworthy structures were built during the Baroque period (1600s - 1800s). Sicily has had many conquerors and the benefits are the amazing buildings and mosaics that remain.
Palermo's Cathedral stands on the site of an Early Christian basilica, later a mosque. It was built in 1179-85 (during the Norman period) but, because of frequent rebuilding and alterations, very little of the original structure remains. The Norman clock tower dates from the 12th century, and the Gothic turrets and their lancet windows were added in the 14th-15th Centuries. In the late 1700s, the nave was widened and the central cupala, behind us here, was added.

The original Norman structure with the typical arched crenellation decoration on the wall tops can be seen under the small cupolas with majolica tiles, which were built over the side chapels in 1781.

The right-hand side of the Cathedral, behind Casandra, as a result of the mixture of styles of architecture, forms a kind of "carved history" of the city.

The portico behind us to the right (above), completed in 1430, with its three pointed arches, a Gothic tympanum with Biblical scenes and the city of arms in bas-relief, is an example of Catalan-Gothic architecture.

On the left, opposite the facade and across the street, but connected by an arch, is the medieval bell tower.

An example of Arab-Norman style is San Cataldo, the chapel of a Palazzo built by a Norman king in the 12th century. The linear Arab-Norman style is characterized by the 3 red domes raised above the walls, the windows with pointed arches and the crenelated battlement decoration.

This castello della Zisa built in 1165-67 is just one example of the opulence of former rulers Sicily. This Norman style castle located in an ugly, fringe area of Palermo is amazingly restored so that it looks like a large rectangular fortress with Arab details and a modern fountain feeding a series of modern fish ponds flowing downward to the front gates. This is a modernization of the palace's gardens which once contained many natural fish ponds and a winding stream that were used as a cooling system.

This is the Palazzo dei Normani (aka Palazzo Reale). This Palazzo was first built by the Arabs who built a fort over the ruins of a Roman fort in the 11th century. In the following century, it was enlarged and became the palace of a Norman king. Today it is the seat of the Sicilian regional assembly (like a state Congress). The present-day appearance of the Palazzo dates back to the alterations made by the Bourbons (Spanish royalty) in the 16th and 17th century. Yet, the Palazzo still retains traces of the original Arab-Norman architecture on the exterior.

Here we are in the Maqueda courtyard of the Palazzo, built in 1600 with 3 rows of arcades and a large staircase leading to the 1st floor and the Capella Palatina.

Located in the Palazzo is the Capella Palatina founded in 1132 by Roger II (Norman king) and decorated in Arab-Norman art. This is one of the few remaining parts from the Norman period. The entrance to Cappella is surrounded by mosaics shown above.

These are mosaics of Christ blessing the faithful and below him are archangels. The mosaics are located in the vault of the central apse over the main altar.

This white marble candelabra is the oldest Romanesque work of art in Sicily. The 3 slender figures at the top support the disc that held the Easter candle. As you can see from looking at this picture, the Cappella was significantly covered with scaffolding as the mosaics are being restored. We did our best to take pictures around the drapery.

This wall of mosaics opposite the central apse decorate the royal throne. The mosaics on the side walls (all of which were covered) depict biblical scenes and the arches on the columns (also covered) depict the prophets. This would have been quite a sight without the scaffolding as the entire Cappella is covered in mosaics giving it an overall golden glow. So we headed out to Monreale to see a the Cathedral which was also built during this period. That church did not disappoint (despite the hot, crowded bus we took to get there).
The Cathedral at Monreale (a suburb about 1/2 hour outside of Palermo) founded in 1172 by the Norman king William II is the pinnacle of acheivement of Arab-Norman art. It is famous for its magnificent gold mosaics representing episodes from the Old Testament.

In the vault of the central apse behind the main altar is a 12th-13th century mosaic of Christ (as the Pantacrator).

The 12th-13th century mosaics occupy the entire nave, side aisles, the choir and the transepts (basically every inch of the interior). The mosaics illustrate scenes from the Old & New Testaments. Above is the right-side aisle and rear wall surrounding the main entrance.

Here is the left-Side aisle with columns and the gilded wood ceiling.

The apses of the side aisles also contain vaults covered in golden mosaics. Above is the vault of the right-side aisle.

The exterior of the apse of the Cathedral with its interlaced marble and tufa (volcanic rock) arches and multi-colored motifs evidences the height of Norman decoration.

The facade of the Cathedral includes an 18th century portico flanked by 2 distinguishable bell towers. Again, you can see the Norman interlacing arches above the portico.

Overall, Monreale is a pretty little town with a lively central square, wonderful for a day trip and the Cathedral is a must-see!

With the exception of Musollini's fascisct architecture, the more "modern" buildings in Sicily are in the style of Sicilian baroque. Below are some spectacular looking churches.

One of the most famous examples is San Domenico rebuilt many times over the past 6 centuries with the present day facade completed in 1724. This church belongs to the Dominican monastery.

Then there is San Giuseppe dei Teatini on the corner of the Quattro Canti built from 1612-45. The facade was finished in 1844 in Neo-classical style. The dome is covered in majolica tiles - which seems common for Sicilian baroque churches and adds amazing color to Palermo's skyline.

The interior of this church is over-the-top (as is to be expected). The 2-aisle nave is flanked by enormous marble columns, the ceiling is frescoed and covered in gilded wood, the walls are all multi-colored marble decorations and the chapels are decorated with stucco and frescoes. To top it off, the high altar is made of semi-precious stones.

Finally, we visited the Chiesa del Gesu (a Jesuit church) which representsthe peak of baroque art in Palermo. Work on the interior of the church began in 1597. This late 16th century facade was part of the set of the movie Il Gattopardo starring Burt Lancaster (based on the famous novel by Tomasi di Lampedusa).

The interior of this church is so magnificent that we walked right in staring up at the frescoed ceiling without realizing that we were interrupting a wedding. So Kenny snapped some pictures of the bride.

The interior is completely covered with marble inlay - walls, columns and floors. Perhaps the most stunning details are the multi-colored marble columns inlaid with filigree-carved white marble. This is the most beautiful baroque art we saw in Palermo and it really competes with the interiors of churches we have seen elsewhere in Italy.