Whenever I see the church of San Cataldo, I feel Palermo is welcoming me home. The red domes of this ancient church overlook Via Maqueda and Piazza Bellini. San Cataldo was built during the early-Norman era in the 1150s by Maio of Bari, William I’s top emir, or commander. Its cherry-on-top domes and elegant window…
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Piazza Bellini, Palermo, Sicily
View of Palermo’s Piazza Bellini from the roof of the Church of Santa Caterina d’Alessandria … La Martorana Church on the left, San Cataldo on the right, dome of Casa Professa or the Church of the Gesù, upper-right background.
With A Cherry On Top
The red domes of San Cataldo church overlook Via Maqueda and Piazza Bellini in Palermo. San Cataldo was built during the early-Norman era in the 1150s by Maio of Bari, William I’s top emir, or commander. Its red domes and elegant window details illustrate the unique Arab-Norman architectural style found only in Sicily.
San Cataldo: Keeping it Simple
Palermo’s San Cataldo church in Piazza Bellini possesses three remarkable red domes on the outside, yet on the inside, those domes illuminate an elegant, simply designed stone chapel. In contrast to its sister church La Martorana, San Cataldo, which was built around 1160, has never possessed mosaics or other such decoration.
Holy Week Preview
This week leading up to Easter Sunday is Holy Week or “La settimana santa.” In Sicily, many, many towns celebrate various sacred rites each day of the week, the height of which are practiced on Holy Thursday and Good Friday. Such practices date back centuries and are rooted in deep tradition. For example, in Enna…
She Wore a Red Cherry Beret
The red domes of San Cataldo church overlook Via Maqueda and Piazza Bellini in Palermo. San Cataldo was built during the early-Norman era in the 1150s by Maio of Bari, William I’s top emir, or commander. Its red domes and elegant window details illustrate the unique Arab-Norman architectural style found only in Sicily.
San Cataldo in Palermo Boasts Spellbinding Mosaics
The inlaid floor of Chiesa Capitolare di San Cataldo in Palermo is a spectacular example of Arab and Norman architectural and decorative styles. Stone and marble pieces create spellbinding pavement mosaics. The church was built in the 1150s by Maio of Bari, William I’s top emir, or commander.