Overview

The Palatine Chapel is the Royal Chapel of the Norman kings of Sicily situated at the centre of the Palazzo dei Normanni in Palermo. The chapel was commissioned by Roger II of Sicily in 1132 and it took eight years to build and many more to decorate with mosaics and fine art. The chapel combines harmoniously a variety of styles: the Norman architecture and door decor, the Arabic arches and scripts adorning the roof, the Byzantine dome and mosaics. The mosaics of the Palatine Chapel are of unparalleled elegance as concerns elongated proportions and streaming draperies of figures. Other remarkable features of the chapel include the Carolingian throne, a low stage for royal receptions, and a balcony which allowed the king to view religious processions from above. In addition, the arabic paintings of the ceiling (called muqarnas) are spectacular. The hundreds of facets were painted, notably with many purely ornamental vegetal and zoomorphic designs but also with scenes of daily life and many subjects that have not yet been explained. Stylistically influenced by Iraqi 'Abbasid art, these paintings are innovative in their more spatially aware representation of personages and of animals. Text in Italian.

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