Tag: Norman
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Persia or Palermo?
The Cloister of the Cathedral at Monreale is one of my most favorite places in Sicily. 228 uniquely designed columns and a bubbling fountain line the center garden. The Norman-Arab architecture leads you to believe you could be in ancient Persia. It’s beautiful and peaceful and has a story all its own.
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Kalsa’s Magione
“La Magione” basilica in the originally-Arab Kalsa district of Palermo is another example of Norman-Arab architecture. Built around 1190, it is one of the oldest churches in Palermo. It’s proper name is the Basilica of the Holy Trinity of the Chancellor. It came to be commonly known as La Magione because “magione” translates to “mansion.”…
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That’s Dedication
Among all of the summer-fun of today’s Ferragosto celebration, let’s not forget that today is The Assumption, the feast day that celebrates the occasion when the Virgin Mother ascended into Heaven. This Byzantine-style mosaic, which dates between 1146-1151, is from Santa Maria dell’Ammiraglio or “The Martorana” church in Palermo. It shows Admiral George of Antioch…
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An Arab-Norman-Greek-Byzantine Star
Every inch of the Cappella Palatina is embellished with intricate mosaics of inlaid marble, colorful stones, and golden glass tiles. This detail illustrates the multi-cultural mix (Norman, Arab, Greek, and Byzantine) that existed during Roger II’s 12th-century rule, when the Palazzo dei Normanni’s chapel was built.
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I Want to Eat Dinner with Roger II
After reading Sicily: Three Thousand Years of Human History by Sandra Benjamin, I became intrigued with Roger II, who was King of Sicily during the Norman period. The Normans, a people who descended from northern French, Norse, northern German, and Viking tribes, ruled Sicily for most of the 11th and 12th centuries. As Benjamin explains…