Friday, 6 October 2017
First stop on our Palermo adventure was the Palazzo dei Normanni (Palace of the Normans). It was the seat of the Kings of Sicily during the Norman domination from 1072.
The church inside (the Cappella Palatina) was a really excellent example of the Arab-Norman-Byzantine style that prevailed in the 12th-century Sicily. In particular, the mosaics were really impressive. Not just that there was so much gold, but that they were so well rendered. If you look back at some of the floor mosaics we saw in Roma, you can see things like faces look a bit amateurish, but these were all truly artistic.
Notwithstanding this is a Church, you can also see the Islamic/Arabic influences coming through. Parts of the fine detailed mosaic is classic Moslem geometry.
Although it was a Norman Castle, rooms have been decorated more recently (ie in the last couple of hundred years) and is now the seat of the Sicilian Regional Assembly. The rooms have been decorated with ancient Greek mythological stories..
The palace has lots of fantastic artwork and while we were there we saw some restoration work going on. You would need a lot of patience to do this.
After the leaving the Palazzo, we passed by the Porta Nuova. Here’s Michelle standing in front of the sculputered figures of the gate – gives you some idea of the size of it. The gate was built in 1535 to celebrate the Charles V’s conquest of Tunis and his visit to the Kingdom of Sicily.
In front of Palermo’s Duomo.
This is Quattro Canti in Piazza Vigliena. There are four Baroque buildings representing the seasons. This is Autumn. It is designed so that during the day the sun shines on each façade in turn. It was one of the first examples of town planning in Europe c.1608-1620.
Fontana Pretoria. The fountain was full of nude statues which was said to represent of the corrupt municipality of Palermo. Outside of the city it’s called the Piazza della Vergogna (Square of Shame).
This is the Oratory de Santa Cita. It was full of statues made from Stucco (rather than marble). You couldn’t tell it wasn’t marble, they looked beautiful. We particularly liked the cherubs looking very happy and observing the goings on the neighbouring sculptures. We weren’t supposed to take pictures, but what can you do?
I don’t know how many times we looked at this photo before we noticed what the happy Cherub is hanging from. The other Cherub looks a little surprised.
Moving on to the Regional Archaeological Museum which contained one of the richest collection of Punic and Ancient Greek art in Italy.
This is a very early depiction of Perseus cutting off Medusa’s head.
Hercules carrying a couple of upside down prisoners.
