Touring Arab-Norman Palermo with famiglia

Famiglia got us tickets to the Norman Palace and Cappella Palatina the royal chapel in Palermo.









Thank you so much!







What an amazing experience sharing this beautiful creation with us.



Red marble stairway.



Golden Carriage of Prince Butera



"... The Palatine Chapel forms part of the UNESCO-listed site "Arab-Norman Palermo and the Cathedral Churches of Cefalù and Monreale", recognized in 2015. Also referred to as a Palace church or Palace chapel,[1] it was commissioned by Roger II of Sicily in 1132 to be built upon an older chapel (now the crypt) constructed around 1080. It took eight years to build, receiving a royal charter the same year, with the mosaics being only partially finished by 1143. ..."





Mosaics in the entryway to the chaple.

".... The mosaics of the Palatine Chapel are of unparalleled elegance as concerns elongated proportions and streaming draperies of figures. ...



"... The Palatine Chapel /ˈpælətaɪn ˈtʃæpəl/ (Italian: Cappella Palatina) is the royal chapel of the Norman Palace in Palermo, Sicily. This building is a mixture of Byzantine, Norman and Fatimid architectural styles, showing the tricultural state of Sicily during the 12th century after Roger I and Robert Guiscard conquered the island. ..."







"... A few mosaics have a secular character and represent oriental flora and fauna. This may be the only substantial passage of secular Byzantine mosaic extant today. ..."





"... The intricate and striking muqarnas that still exist in Italy are all in Palermo, mostly in the Zisa Palace and Capella Palatina. They are also a rare case of non-Islamic manifestations. ...



Detail of ceiling muqarnas. "... It is an archetypal form of Islamic architecture, integral to the vernacular of Islamic buildings and typically featured in domes and vaults..."





Mosaic mural detail.

"... The mosaics of the Cappella Palatina in Palermo are primarily composed of glass paste (smalti) and gold leaf tesserae, creating a luminous, glittering effect. These, along with stone, are set into a foundation of lime and brick powder. They feature vibrant colors and detailed figures, with gold leaf used to signify divine light, particularly in the Christ Pantocrator dome. ..."

Simply something you have to see in person.









"... The Palatine Chapel forms part of the UNESCO-listed site "Arab-Norman Palermo and the Cathedral Churches of Cefalù and Monreale", recognized in 2015. ..."

And thanks to my family in Sicilia we have seen two, Palatine Chapel and the Cathedral in Monreale of the three in person now.

Grazie molto!