PALERMO | Palazzo dei Normanni, the Royal Palace of the Normans in Sicily

March 2025. We’re embarking on a train trip to Sicily. We fly from Brussels Airport to Leonardo da Vinci Rome Fiumicino Airport with ITA Airways. Then we take an Intercity Notte sleeper train by Trenitalia from Roma Termini Railway Station across Italy to Syracuse. Yes, the train is loaded on a ferry to cross the Strait of Messina. After visiting Syracuse, Catania and Palermo, we return to Rome, and home. With 25,832 km², Sicily is only 20% smaller than Belgium (30,689 km²). Quite a lot in four days.

Not far from Palermo Cathedral is the Palazzo dei Normanni, the Palace of the Normans, the Royal Palace of Palermo. Even if the Royal Apartments were closed off because of an official function involving members of the military, we bought tickets to get in. Here are photos of the Royal Apartments.

The Palace of the Normans

The Palazzo dei Normanni was the seat of the Kings of Sicily under the Hauteville dynasty and later served as the main seat of power for successive rulers of Sicily. Since 1946, it has housed the Sicilian Regional Assembly. It is the oldest royal residence in Europe and was the private residence of the rulers of the Kingdom of Sicily, as well as the imperial seat of Frederick II and Conrad IV.

The palace stands at the highest point of the ancient city centre, above the earliest Punic settlements, remnants of which can still be found in the basement.

Originally built as a Norman castle, it became the primary royal residence after the Normans conquered Sicily in 1072, just six years after their conquest of England, and established Palermo as the capital of the new County of Sicily. In 1132, King Roger II added the renowned Cappella Palatina to the complex.

Under the Swabian emperors, the palace retained its administrative role and became the centre of the Sicilian School of Poetry, though it was rarely used as a permanent seat of power, particularly during the reign of Frederick II.

The Angevin and Aragonese rulers favoured other residences, but in the latter half of the sixteenth century, the Spanish viceroys re-established the palace as an important administrative centre. They undertook significant reconstructions to meet their representational and military needs, including the addition of a system of bastions.[citation needed]

The Spanish Bourbons later expanded the palace with new reception rooms—la Sala Rossa, la Sala Gialla, and la Sala Verde and reconstructed the Sala d’Ercole, named after its frescoes depicting the mythological hero Hercules.

Since 1946, the palace has served as the seat of the Sicilian Regional Assembly. The western wing, including the Porta Nuova, was allocated to the Italian Army and now houses the Southern Military Region headquarters.

During the 1960s, the palace underwent extensive restoration under the supervision of Rosario La Duca.

It is also home to the Astronomical Observatory of Palermo.

Cappella Palatina

The Palatine Chapel is the royal chapel of the Norman Palace. 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.

Also referred to as a palace church or palace chapel, 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. The sanctuary, dedicated to Saint Peter, is reminiscent of a domed basilica. It has three apses, as is usual in Byzantine architecture, with six pointed arches, three on each side of the central nave, resting on recycled classical columns. The muqarnas ceiling of the nave and the chapel’s rectilinear form show the Fatimid influence in the building’s construction.

Mosaics

The oldest mosaics are probably those covering the ceiling, the drum, and the dome. The shimmering mosaics of the transept, presumably dating from the 1140s and attributed to Byzantine artists, include an illustrated scene along the north wall of St. John in the desert and a landscape of Agnus Dei. Below this are five saints, the Greek fathers of the church: St. Gregory of Nissa, St. Gregory the Theologian, St. Basil, St. John Chrysostom, and St. Nicholas.

The three central figures—St. Gregory, St. Basil, and St. John Chrysostom—are the Three Great Orthodox Church Fathers referred to as the Three Hierarchs, a concept that originated fifty years earlier. Every composition is set within an ornamental frame, similar to those used in contemporaneous mosaic icons.

The rest of the mosaics, dated to the 1160s or the 1170s, are executed in a cruder manner and feature Latin rather than Greek inscriptions. Probably the work of local craftsmen, these pieces are more narrative and illustrative than transcendental. A few mosaics have a secular character and depict oriental flora and fauna. This may be the only substantial passage of secular Byzantine mosaic extant today.

Muqarnas ceiling

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

They appeared in Sicily suddenly, suggesting that a system as sophisticated as this was likely imported from elsewhere. Scholars are uncertain about the origins of this art, with theories ranging from North Africa, Egypt, Syria, Persia, or even local Sicilian development.

Some scholars highlight the similarities between Zirid architectural fragments from the Qal’a Beni Hammad in Algeria and the Cappella Palatina roofs as evidence of North African influence. There are also muqarnas in Tunisia that resemble those in the Cappella Palatina.

Another potential source is Syria, where the earliest muqarnas date from the 12th century in Aleppo. However, a major flaw in this theory is that the Sicilian muqarnas precede their Syrian counterparts by 30 years.

Some scholars believe the muqarnas originated with the Fatimids in Egypt, arguing that a period of unrest in Cairo may have led to a decline in patronage for the arts, prompting Fatimid artists to flee to Sicily.

This could have fostered collaboration between Sicilian artisans and Fatimid craftsmen, introducing muqarnas to the island. Another theory suggests that skilled Islamic craftsmen were already present in Sicily and responsible for the muqarnas, as Sicilian examples vary significantly from their Islamic counterparts.

However, the dominant theory remains that the Fatimids were the originators of the Sicilian muqarnas, though tangible evidence is lacking. While there is some written correspondence between Norman Palermo and the Fatimids, there is no mention of artisans or the exchange of artistic styles.

The muqarnas ceiling surmounts the three-aisled basilica hall in the western part of the building. The ceiling represents the cultural diversity of Roger II’s kingdom and his ability to unify the land around him. Some scholars also suggest that Roger had the ceiling constructed of wood to reference Solomon’s palace in Jerusalem, thereby claiming a divine right to rule.

The iconography reinforces Roger and the Norman dynasty’s royal status. The art relates to the Islamic vision of eternal paradise, implying that the Norman kings were the most eminent representatives of heaven on earth.

There are approximately 75 inscriptions serving as invocations of regal power, offering blessings of praise and good wishes for power, prosperity, and health. Many of these inscriptions are in Kufic script, reinforcing the potential Fatimid origins of the muqarnas.

The inscriptions were difficult to read due to the overlying art and intricate geometry, but viewers could discern a word or two that might trigger a verse from the Quran.

The iconography of the muqarnas continues to emphasise the idea of paradise in heaven and on Earth. The images reference the pleasures and customs of the king’s court, including hunters, drinkers, dancers, and musicians.

Interestingly, the images on the ceiling do not form a coherent narrative. On the eastern end of the muqarnas ceiling, there is an image of revelers singing, dancing, and drinking, seemingly part of a banquet honouring the patrons of the royal chapel. These figures carry special drinking chalices, which appear throughout the muqarnas. In the third register, on either side of the exact centre of the south muqarnas, there are two paintings of crowned rulers, one of whom is Roger II.

Some Christian scenes also appear on the muqarnas, though they depict everyday life rather than religious themes. The muqarnas celebrate battles, hunts, and various animals, including elephants, deer, ibexes, gazelles, and antelopes, which in Arab literature serve as metaphors with layered meanings.

The Cappella Palatina is the earliest surviving example of wooden muqarnas. This suggests that the construction of wooden muqarnas began with this building, as all prior examples were made of brick or stone. The ceiling was likely built after the mosaics of the nave, commissioned by William I.

The wooden components are remarkably small, ranging between 1 and 1.5 centimetres (0.4 and 0.6 inches). Each piece is meticulously fitted together and reinforced with fibre bindings held by animal glue.

The ceiling is supported by horizontal cavetto wood mouldings that meet the upper part of the windows and features both longitudinal and transverse symmetry. It comprises a central horizontal field with a star-and-cross pattern, five horizontal tiers allowing a smooth transition from the ceiling to the walls of the nave, and 20 eight-pointed stars formed by overlaying two squares rotated at 45-degree angles.

The muqarnas have no structural purpose; they are suspended beneath the exterior roof with additional wooden support.

Chapel

The chapel harmoniously blends a variety of styles: Norman architecture and door decoration, Arabic arches and ceiling designs, Byzantine domes and mosaics, and Arabic script adorning the roof. Clusters of four eight-pointed stars, a typical Muslim design, are arranged on the ceiling in a way that forms a Christian cross.

The Cappella Palatina is built along an east–west axis. On the west side is the throne platform, and on the east side is the sanctuary, with the nave connecting the two. Domes crown both the throne platform and the sanctuary.

Along the northern wall of the sanctuary is the royal balcony and northern chapel, where the king would observe and listen to the liturgy on special feast days. Two rows of colonnades run along the nave, with windows positioned between each. The chapel was decorated with gold, pearls, porphyry, silk, and marble.

The chapel is considered a union of a Byzantine church sanctuary and a Western basilica nave. The sanctuary is of an Eastern artistic nature, while the nave reflects Western influences.

Nave

The nave, constructed under Roger II, originally lacked Christian imagery, which was added later by his successors, William I and William II. The nave’s ceiling contains inscriptions in Arabic, Greek, and Latin.

The royal throne frame is set against the west wall of the nave, with six steps leading to the throne site. Two heraldic lions are depicted in roundels above the throne frame gable.

Sanctuary

As an expression of Norman culture, St. Dionysius and St. Martin are depicted in the sanctuary. The mosaics follow Byzantine artistic traditions in both composition and subject matter. The apex of the dome features the Pantocrator, surrounded by rows of angels, prophets, evangelists, and saints.

Analysis

Slobodan Ćurčić considers the Palatine Chapel a reflection of Middle Byzantine art, illustrating architectural and artistic ingenuity that embodies Sicily’s multicultural heritage. European historians suggest that Roger II designed the throne room and chapel as equal parts of the Cappella Palatina to signal his permanence in Sicily to the papacy and other European rulers.

Temporary exhibition: ‘Celebrating Picasso’

Our visit started with the temporary exhibition ‘Celebrating Picasso, Masterpieces from the Kunstmuseum Pablo Picasso in Münster‘.

The exhibition presents 84 works alongside a video section, illustrating the fundamental connection between Pablo Picasso’s artistic output and his biography. Organised by the Federico II Foundation, the exhibition brings to Sicily a significant collection that explores both the artist and the man. The display includes paintings, lithographs, linocuts, aquatints, etchings, ceramics, and drypoints, focusing on themes central to Picasso’s work.

Additional works have been loaned by the Picasso Museum in Antibes (near Nice in France), the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Trento and Rovereto (Mart), the Galleria La Nuova Pesa in Rome, and various private collections. The exhibition ran until 4 May 2025.

The exhibition features 84 works that illuminate the interplay between Picasso’s life and art. Through the efforts of the Federico II Foundation and its expanding international collaborations, a diverse collection arrives in Sicily, shedding light on the multifaceted nature of Picasso as both an artist and an individual.

The exhibition encompasses a broad spectrum of his output, including paintings, lithographs, linocuts, aquatints, etchings, ceramics, and drypoints, reflecting the themes most integral to his artistic identity. A noteworthy addition is a series of photographs by David Douglas Duncan, who captured intimate moments of Picasso’s personal and professional life after gaining unrestricted access to his studio in 1956.

Picasso once stated, “I wake up neoclassical and go to sleep neocubist”, highlighting his continuous evolution and unwavering commitment to artistic innovation.

The exhibition showcases this dynamic creative process through a selection of works that reveal Picasso’s mastery of various styles and materials. His art is deeply autobiographical, as he himself remarked: “The work that is painted is a sort of diary to be kept”.

His artistic output and personal experiences are inseparable.

The exhibition serves as a tribute to Picasso on the 50th anniversary of his death on 8 April 1973 in Mougins. The artist often referred to himself as a ‘cannibal’, an idea echoed by his muse and partner Françoise Gilot, who observed that Picasso created his art using the very essence of those around him.

The exhibition explores several key themes in Picasso’s work, beginning with his muses. The artist’s relationships with women were closely intertwined with his creative phases. Each artistic transformation coincided with a new muse, shaping the evolution of his style.

In the winter of 1945–46, Picasso became intensely interested in lithography, a passion that paralleled his relationship with Françoise Gilot. His printer, Fernand Mourlot, referred to this period as Picasso’s ‘lithographic fever’. The exhibition includes several portraits of Gilot that exemplify this creative surge.

Another highlight is ‘Seated Fisherman with a Cap‘, a work created during Picasso’s post-war stay in Antibes. The painting, produced on a plywood panel using boat paint, reflects both Mediterranean influences and the artist’s signature style, where cubist and surrealist elements merge.

A photograph by Michel Sima, included in the exhibition catalogue, captures Picasso in the process of painting this piece, revealing how the composition evolved through multiple revisions.

The theme of the dove is also prominent in the exhibition. In 1949, Picasso’s depiction of a dove became an international symbol of peace after being chosen for the Congress of Intellectuals for Peace in Paris. The success of this image led Picasso to create numerous variations, solidifying its role in his artistic mythology.

That same year, Françoise Gilot gave birth to their daughter, Paloma, whose name—Spanish for ‘dove’—further cemented the connection between the motif and the artist’s personal life.

Picasso’s children, Claude and Paloma, are depicted in a series of lithographs that illustrate his ability to capture childhood innocence with expressive simplicity. The exhibition features a striking portrait of Paloma holding a doll, a moment Picasso achieved by tricking his children into believing he was painting their toys rather than their faces.

Another major theme in the exhibition is bullfighting, a subject deeply embedded in Picasso’s imagination. He likened the artistic process to a bullfight, stating, “Imagine for a moment that you are in the centre of the arena. You have your easel and your canvas, it is white and must be painted and everyone is looking at you. The slightest mistake and you are dead. And you don’t even need a bull to do it”.

The exhibition includes a selection of aquatints and linocuts depicting this motif, such as ‘Small Head of a Woman Crowned with Flowers‘, an example of Picasso’s innovative approach to printmaking.

Picasso’s creative process is further illustrated through his ceramics, an art form he embraced after World War II in Vallauris. Initially, he decorated pre-made vases before developing his own distinctive creations. His still life designs, often incorporating fish motifs, became a recurring theme after he relocated to the Côte d’Azur (French Riviera).

The exhibition at Palazzo Reale in Palermo offers an in-depth exploration of Picasso’s multifaceted career, revealing the artist’s continuous evolution, his deep personal connections to his work, and his relentless pursuit of innovation.

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