Italy Guide
Sicily
Palazzo dei Normanni
Address: Piazza Indipendenza
The Palazzo dei Normanni, or Palazzo Reale was originally built by the Saracens and later enlarged considerably by the Normans, under whom it housed the most magnificent of medieval European courts – a noted centre of poetic and artistic achievement. Sadly, there's little left from those times. The long front was added by the Spanish in the seventeenth century and most of the interior is now taken up by the Sicilian Regional Parliament (which explains the security guards and the limited opening hours). Be prepared to queue.
Of the Royal Apartments (Mon, Tues & Thurs– Sat 8.30am– noon & 2–5pm, Sun 8.30am–12.30pm; €6, including Cappella Palatina) the showpiece is undoubtedly the Sala di Ruggero, one of the earliest parts of the palace and richly covered with a twelfth-century mosaic of hunting scenes. The highlight of the visit, however, is the beautiful Cappella Palatina (Mon– Sat 8.30am– noon & 2–5pm, Sun 8.30–9.45am & 11.45am–12.30pm), the private royal chapel of Roger II, built between 1132 and 1143. This is the undisputed artistic gem of central Palermo, its cupola, three apses and nave entirely covered in mosaics of outstanding quality. The oldest are those in the cupola and apses, probably completed in 1150 by Byzantine artists; those in the nave are from the hands of local craftsmen, finished twenty-odd years later and depicting Old and New Testament scenes. The colours are vivid and, as usual in Byzantine art, the powerful image of Christ as Pantocrator (creator of everything) dominates. Aside from the mosaics, the chapel has a delightful Arabic ceiling with richly carved wooden stalactites, a patterned marble floor and an impressive marble Norman candlestick (by the pulpit), 4m high and contorted by manic carvings.