The Cathedral of Palermo is a treasure of the Norman architecture in Sicily. SUBSCRIBE to my channel for more videos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUasRgxugMfgoP5pZAkNamg?view_as=subscriber The Cathedral of Palermo is one of the most important architectural monuments in Sicily. It was built in 1184 by the Normans as a re-converted Christian church on the site of a Muslim Mosque that was previously built over a Christian basilica. This Cathedral is a must see when visiting Palermo! The reason for building this cathedral was to surpass in beauty the Cathedral of Monreale so you can imagine how architectural exaggeration was involved due to the competitiveness. What we see today is the result of a stratification of styles over the centuries from Gothic to Medieval, Arabic (an actual passage from the Koran is still engraved on one of the columns) to Neoclassical. HISTORY: The church was erected in 1185 by Walter Ophamil (or Walter of the Mill), the Anglo-Norman archbishop of Palermo and King William II's minister, on the area of an earlier Byzantine basilica. By all accounts this earlier church was founded by Pope Gregory I and was later turned into a mosque by the Saracens after their conquest of the city in the 9th century. Ophamil is buried in a sarcophagus in the church's crypt. The medieval edifice had a basilica plan with three apses, of which only some minor architectural elements survive today. The upper orders of the corner towers were built between the 14th and the 15th centuries, while in the early Renaissance period the southern porch was added. The present neoclassical appearance dates from the work carried out over the two decades 1781 to 1801, supervised by Ferdinando Fuga and Giuseppe Venanzio Marvuglia. During this period the great retable by Gagini, decorated with statues, friezes and reliefs, was destroyed and the sculptures moved to different parts of the basilica. Also by Fuga are the great dome emerging from the main body of the building, and the smaller domes covering the aisles' ceilings. ROYAL TOMBS: housing tombs and sarcophagi of Roman, Byzantine and Norman ages Monumental tombs of kings and emperors, moved here after the renovation of the basilica. The first of the tombs, with a porphyry baldachin, is of Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor from 1189 to 1197 and father of the great Frederick II. The choice of porphyry is no coincidence: it is an exceptionally hard stone, used for the most important monuments and also reserved for emperors during the Byzantine Empire. Behind the tomb of Henry VI, you can see the tomb of his wife Constance I, Queen of Sicily, also in porphyry and with a striking mosaic baldachin. An ancient Roman sarcophagus in white marble, decorated with a hunting scene, contains the mortal remains of Constance II of Aragon, the first wife of Frederick II. A splendid crown was found inside which you can admire in the fascinating Cathedral Treasury. The magnificent sarcophagus you can see in porphyry, with a semi-circular bottom, supported by four lions holding human figures in their paws and topped by a monumental baldachin with six red marble columns, is the tomb of Frederick II who died in 1250. Later additions to the tomb included Peter II of Aragon in 1352, and an unknown woman. Behind this tomb, protected by a similar baldachin with an elaborate mosaic decoration, is the tomb of Roger II, the first king of Sicily, who died in 1154 and was the grandfather of Frederick II. Made of porphyry slabs, it is supported by telamons, male figures sculpted in marble. The last of the tombs on the left is of William II, Duke of Athens, who died in 1338. He is dressed in the Dominican habit as a sign of his devotion. We know that two of the sarcophagi were transported here on the orders of Frederick II from the Cathedral of Cefalù, to which they had been given by Roger II: they are probably those of Henry VI and Frederick II. An interesting fact: Frederick’s mother Constance was 40 when she became pregnant. Since much of the population did not believe she could actually give birth at such an advanced age, the queen was forced to do so in public, in a square in Jesi, in order to convince the doubters.
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