Palermo’s Splendid Cappella Palatina
Few cities in Europe are as cosmopolitan as the wonderful, vibrant city of Palermo, largely because it has been ruled by a number of different empires throughout its long history.
It was founded by the early lords of the Mediterranean, the Phoenicians, in the 8th century BCE, and was conquered by Rome and later by Muslim Aghlabids who hailed from Tunisia, only to be ruled by Spain for centuries after its Norman conquest. Nothing symbolizes this multiculturalism more than its resplendent Norman period when its tolerant kings left the administration of the island to Muslims, such as Christodoulos, a Muslim convert who was the city’s first Emir.
Aerial view of Palermo, Sicily
At this time, Palermo was one of the largest cities in Europe and possessed one of its most important ports. The wealth that flowed into the city and kingdom transformed the Norman kings, whose pleasure palaces and luxuriant lifestyles seem a far cry from their war hardened cousins who conquered England. In this prosperous environment, Norman kings, notably the outstanding Roger II, developed a court which comprised scholars from all over the Mediterranean, including the Moroccan cartographer, Mohammed al Idrisi, who produced one of the most influential maps of the medieval period. Inscriptions from the period, such as that on notably the tomb of the cleric Grisandus’ mother, Anna, were multilingual, reflecting the cosmopolitan nature of the capital city. Today, Palermo is littered with memories of the tolerant Norman period, from trilingual street signs to the names of some of their districts, including La Kalsa, and the name of its most ancient street, the Cassaro.
The Tabula Rogeriana, drawn by al-Idrisi for Roger II of Sicily in 1154, one of the most advanced medieval world maps
The crowning achievement of this wonderful period, however, is the splendid Cappella Palatina, built by Roger II in the Norman Palace, which served both as his residence and as the kingdom’s administrative centre. This Palatine Chapel, dedicated to Saint Peter, was commissioned in 1132 and was completed in the reign of William II in the 1170s. Naturally enough, as the royal chapel of a dynasty steeped in wealth, it is stupendous in every aspect: it has an intricate paschal candlestick and a highly decorated pulpit and throne, which was built for the coronation of William II and his Plantagenet queen Joanna, the daughter of England’s King Henry II.
The Palace of the Normans, Palermo, which contains the Cappella Palatina
Inside the Palatine Chapel
What makes it remarkable is not so much that it is shimmering in gold mosaics which cover every inch of its walls, or that its Cosmatesque 12th-century floors are intact, or even that it has a hugely sophisticated ceiling. What is remarkable is that these all derive from such different artistic traditions and that Roger II conceived of a royal chapel which comprised Norman, Byzantine, Latin and Muslim art.
The first thing that arrests the attention of viewers entering the small chapel is its amazing mosaics, which mostly derive from the 12th century. Dominating the apse is an imposing mosaic of Christ Pantokrator, an image seen in so many Byzantine churches and cathedrals, notably the Hagia Sophia.
Mosaic of Christ Pantokrator
The mosaics in the sanctuary are the earliest and depict scenes from the New Testament, as well as saints, who are very popular in Eastern Orthodox traditions, including Basil and John Chrysostom, who are represented as Byzantine icons.
Mosaics of St. Basil the Great and St. John Chrysostom in the Master of the Palace Chapel
The mosaics in the nave depict episodes from Genesis, including the creation of the world, Adam and Eve, Abraham and Isaac, as well as Noah. Like other mosaics found in Palermo, these mosaics present famous scenes in a very lively manner, drawing the attention of the viewer or member of the congregation. Noah’s sons, for example, are shown to be very clearly embarrassed by the drunkenness and nudity of their father, who apparently burned off steam from his stressful sojourn in the ark a little too enthusiastically.
Mosaic of Noah being covered by his sons
The chapel’s aisles are enlivened by a series of mosaics depicting the episodes from the lives of Saints Peter and Paul. Again the narratives are visually arresting: Paul is clearly on the nervous side as he is being lowered in a basket, in his escape from Damascus.
Mosaic of St Paul escaping from Damascus
Given the brilliance of the mosaics, the exquisite floor is often ignored, although it is one of the best preserved 12th-century floors in the Mediterranean. Placed in another church or chapel, this opus sectile floor would be its centrepiece. Taken as a whole, the floor is like a series of rugs made by different masters using different patterns. The intricate designs of the floor, made out of reused Roman stones, are an interesting blend of Latin and Muslim traditions. In various places, they resemble the famous cosmati floors found in Rome and Lazio, notably in designs shaped like quincunxes in which a large disk, or circle, is surrounded by four smaller circles.
Quincunx design. Photo by: Nikos Konstantinidis
In other places, however, the designs are Muslim in character. The patterns in the nave, in particular, are made up of eight pointed stars surrounded by intricate geometric patterns of the kind seen in Fatimid wood carvings.
Muslim floor example
The same Muslim influence can be seen in the lower parts of the aisles in which zelij tiles enliven the marble walls which are topped by palmettes which resemble decorations found in Morocco.
Visitors dazzled by the chapel’s mosaics are also in danger of ignoring perhaps the most intriguing and unique part of the Cappella Palatina, that is the extraordinary wooden ceiling decorated with an astonishingly complex series of superimposed rows of flat or curved panels which support the ceiling. The ceiling is comprised of muqarnas which can be seen all over the Muslim world, from Isfahan to the Alhambra but, in Italy, are only found in Palermo. The ceiling comprises nine eight-pointed stars which are covered in Kufic scripts detailing the glory of God and the king’s power.
Ceiling of the Cappella Palatina
It is the only complete Muslim pictorial cycle from the Mediterranean and is made up of innumerable scenes which don’t appear to have any relevance to a Catholic chapel. There are scenes of musicians playing ouds, acrobats, scarf dancers, as well as one of the earliest depictions of people playing chess. From their garb to how they are represented with kiss curls, the images are decidedly Muslim, straight out of Seljuk or Fatimid art.
Detail of the ceiling
Neither the subject matter of the muqarnas nor their clear Muslim derivation seems right in the royal palace, built for a Christian dynasty famed for conquering Muslim forces which had ruled over the Island for more than 200 years.
This incongruity is the essence of the beauty of the Cappella Palatina: it is the culmination of the tolerant ambience of Norman Palermo. The chapel has typically Norman architecture with its solid Romanesque arches and is decorated with resplendent mosaics typical of the Byzantine world (forged perhaps by craftsmen from Constantinople or from Venice), as well as Latin and Islamic flooring and all topped by a ceiling made by Muslim craftsmen, the like of which is unknown in other parts of the Mediterranean. The various parts of the chapel just don’t seem to fit together and would jar if the whole wasn’t just perfect.
Gold Mosaics of Cappella Palatina
The completely unexpected Muslim figures seen on the ceiling seem to have exactly nothing to do with scenes from Genesis or the New Testament, yet they fit together in the end because all, in different ways, are celebrating God and are celebrating the king. In this way, the Cappella Palatina, with its different flavours, is a symbol of that brilliant Norman period where intellectuals and artists from all over the world converged and made the world better and more beautiful.
SICILY & THE AEOLIAN ISLANDS
Jewels of the Mediterranean
On this comprehensive 17-day tour, join classicist Dr Eireann Marshall as we delve into the region’s unique fusion of Phoenician, Greek, Roman, Arab, Norman and Spanish heritage, before venturing to the picturesque island of Lipari – our base to explore the whitewashed buildings of Panarea and the explosive beauty of Stromboli.
We also enjoy a special private visit to the extraordinary Cappella Palatina in Palermo.
