Arab-Norman route/Palermo - Norman Palace

UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2015

It is likely that both the Phoenicians and the Romans built a fortress to dominate the entire city area on the hill where the palace is today. Nothing remains of these early buildings. The Arabs, after having built a castle for themselves, they abandoned it, as the Emir preferred to move with all his officers and troops to the seaside region of Al-Halisah.

Therefore, the restoration and transformation of the building into a splendid palace was thanks to the Norman people, in 1072, about 900 years ago.

The heart of it was a very spacious aula regia, also known as aula verde, where the king had meetings and banquets. The residence apartments, toilets, and staff quarters were in different wings, connected by terraces, balconies and gardens full of greenery and water basins, which already showed the sovereigns’ Arabic taste, who, here as elsewhere, used Islamic architects.

From the stylistic point of view, the palace is the most important example of western Fatimid palatial art, both for the architectural characteristics and the decorations that artists lavished in the various rooms.

After 1250, when Frederick II died, the decline of the palace began, which continued for about three centuries, until the Spanish viceroys chose it as their residence.

On the one hand, they saved the building from complete abandonment, on the other hand, they changed it to suit their taste.

Therefore, only a few of the original Norman style rooms have kept their original look. However, two real gems are hidden among them, the Sala di Ruggero and the Palatine Chapel.

The Sala di Ruggero was originally a bedroom. It is a panoramic room that overlooks the Bay of Palermo. The walls are elegantly decorated with mosaics that represent hunting scenes animated by figures and stylised plants.

It is a rare example of the secular mosaic art of that time, which immerses its roots in the Persian East and North Africa.

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http://www.visitsicily.info/en/palermo-arabo-normanna-e-le-cattedrali-di-cefalu-e-monreale/