8-Hour Tour of Palermo, Araba Normanna and Monreale

The first stop on the tour is the Norman palace. Built around the tenth century, it became a royal residence of the Norman kings of exceptional sumptuousness and refinement. They chose the technical mastery of Muslim workers for their architecture, thus giving birth to "Arab-Norman art". The set of buildings that make up today's Royal Palace is the result of the additions made between the 16th and 17th centuries, which gave the complex a unified appearance. Inside it is possible to admire, in addition to the splendid Palatine Chapel, the Sala d'Ercole, built in 1560 and is so called due to the presence of paintings representing scenes of the mythological hero created by Giuseppe Velasquez. The Pisan Tower has housed the Astronomical Observatory since 1791. Since 1946 the Palazzo dei Normanni has been the seat of the Assembly of the Sicilian Region and the Sicilian Parliament meets there.

The Cathedral of Monreale is one of the most precious examples of Arab-Norman art, a UNESCO heritage site. There is a fee to enter the cathedral. You will be able to admire the vastness, the harmony of the architectural elements and the splendor of the mosaics of Christ Pantocrator. The cloister, in front of the Church, is part of the same architectural complex and is rich in religious decorations from the Old and New Testaments. Crossing Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II, where the famous cathedral and the town hall stand, you reach the Belvedere, a terraced park, which overlooks the Conca d'Oro and the city of Palermo with a wonderful view.

The cathedral of Palermo was an early Christian basilica, a mosque, then a church again. The alternation of the dominations and of the respective cultures, led over time to the insertion of new architectural and artistic elements, while remaining the predominant Arab-Norman style. All that remains is to understand its history and discover its treasures among chapels, frescoes, royal tombs and even a particular sundial. Entrance to the cathedral is free, but a ticket must be paid to visit the crypt, treasury, roofs and mausoleums.

Located in the historic center of Palermo on Piazza Bellini, it was built in 1143 at the behest of George of Antioch, Grand Admiral of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, under Roger II. Subsequently it was merged with the nearby convent of the Benedictine nuns, founded by Goffredo and Eloisa Martorana, from which derives the alternative name of the Church: the "Martorana". The Church is the most important Byzantine-style building in Palermo, although it has purely Islamic elements. The Church has an inscribed plan, oriented with the apse to the east and the facade to the west to direct the prayers towards the east, according to the typical ritual of the Byzantine churches. The choir is supported by columns from previous Norman buildings, the upper part of the walls and the dome are entirely covered with Byzantine mosaics, the oldest in Sicily and among the most important in the world.

Inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, the church of San Cataldo is a wonderful example of Arab-Norman architecture. It is located in Piazza Bellini, in an elevated position and annexed to the church of Santa Maria dell'Ammiraglio (la Martorana). The building dates back to the Norman period of William I. Externally, the church of San Cataldo has a simple and severe facade. Made of sandstone and characterized by a parallelepiped shape, some blind arches house three large windows on each side. In the upper part there is an arabesque crenellation, above which the three characteristic red domes stand out, which are located in correspondence with the central nave.

The Church of S. Giovanni degli Eremiti, one of the most famous medieval buildings in Palermo, was built in the Norman era, between 1130 and 1148, under the reign of Roger II, but radically restored in 1882 by Giuseppe Patricolo. The internal constructive module of the church is given by a cubic structure surmounted by a dome. This module is repeated five times: two in the spans of the single nave, three in the transept. The juxtaposition of the square, which represents the earth, with the circle, which represents the sky, recurs both in the Fatimite Islamic culture and in the Byzantine one. The interior is bare and collected.