Architecture In Norman Sicily: The Palatine Chapel

Architecture in Norman Sicily: the Palatine Chapel

Many Normans, Christian descendants of the Vikings, left France for southern Italy around AD 1000. Pilgrims and mercenaries soon became conquerors and rulers. The Norman mercenary Count Roger de Hauteville founded a dynasty that reigned over Sicily for a century. During that time the island became a prosperous and influential Mediterranean superpower.

Under Roger’s son, Roger II, Sicily was characterised by an unusual, but fragile, religious tolerance. Jews, Muslims, Orthodox Greek Byzantines, Christian Normans and Italians lived together in one multi-ethnic kingdom. Roger welcomed scholars of all races and faiths to his court and a new art and architecture emerged from the mixture of influences, centred on the king’s court at the Norman Palace in Palermo.

At the heart of the palace, the Palatine Chapel (Cappella Palatina) was the jewel in the crown of Roger’s architectural achievements. It was consecrated on Palm Sunday, 28 April, in 1140, although its decorations were not entirely completed at this time. It combined a church with a hall for royal audiences, complete with platform and throne. Byzantine mosaic artists adapted their skills for western church architecture. Southern Italian artisans made the inlaid marble floor. Most impressive, however, was the ceiling created by Fatimid woodworkers and painters from North Africa. Star-and-cross patterns framed by ‘honeycomb’ vaulting created a complex stalactite structure. Every inch was plastered and painted with Arabic inscriptions and scenes from Roger’s court, which was based on that of the Fatimids in Egypt.

In this video Exhibition Curator Dirk Booms gives a quick introduction to the chapel and its impressive decoration.

Learn more about Norman Sicily and its unique art and architecture in our exhibition Sicily: culture and conquest (21 April – 14 August 2016).

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