The beautiful Sicilian capital, the city of Palermo, boasts among its symbols a majestic and imposing building: it is the Palazzo dei Normanni that, despite its name, corresponds to the result of construction, demolitions and restorations occurred over the centuries by Arabs, Spaniards, French, Italians and even Normans.
The fortress, also known as the Royal Palace, is the result of the mixture of different peoples and cultures, a feature that can be found in many buildings in Palermo. Transformed into a residence before the Bourbons and after the Viceroys, the Palazzo dei Normanni is also home to administrative activities, craft workshops of goldsmith’s and production of fabrics, as well as cultural activities such as the Sicilian Poetic School.
Thanks to its unique structure, its history and the beauty of the Palatine Chapel it houses, the Royal Palace attracts every year tourists from all over the world who wish to discover and admire one of the oldest royal residences in Europe.
Foto : Federico Secondo
The Palatine Chapel
Immediately after the coronation of 1130, Roger II ordered the construction of the Chapel of the Palace; from the architectural and decorative point of view, the latter represents the union between different cultures and religions, given the Byzantine origin, Islamic and Latin workers involved.
The Church, dedicated to Saint Peter the Apostle, has a plan characterized by Latin and Byzantine elements; the dome is surmounted by the image of Christ Pantocrator, while the presbytery is enriched with ancient mosaics depicting scenes from the New Testament, in particular that of the baptism of Christ.
The Hall of Hercules
Since 1947 the deputies of the Sicilian Regional Assembly gather inside the Sala d’Ercole, whose name derives from the paintings depicting the cycle dedicated to the hero of Greek mythology made by the artist Giuseppe Velasco, known as Velasquez. The Regional Parliament (ARS) represents the first Italian Parliament and is one of the oldest in Europe.
The Halls of the Duke of Montalto
The Rooms of the Duke of Montalto were frescoed during the first half of the seventeenth century by the most famous artists of the time to be transformed into rooms for the summer audiences of the Parliament. Above the porthole stands the portrait of Pietro Moncada on horseback.
The Hall of the Viceroys
The Sala dei Viceré is so named because of the presence of 21 portraits on the walls belonging, in fact, to Viceroys, lieutenants and presidents of the Bourbon Kingdom of Sicily. Among the most important figures are Domenico Caracciolo di Villamaina and Francesco D’Aquino, prince of Caramanico.
The Pompeian Room
The Pompeian Room belongs to the Pompeian Gallery, commissioned by Leopold of Bourbon. Decorated around 1830 by Giuseppe Patania in neoclassical style, it shows numerous mythological representations that take their inspiration from the archaeological discoveries of Pompeii and Herculaneum.
The Chinese Hall
The Chinese Room, painted by the brothers Giovanni and Salvatore Patricolo, is perfectly in line with the typical style of almost all the European courts between the 18th and 19th centuries, that is the oriental one; not surprisingly, in fact, the men and women depicted wear typical Chinese garments.
The Hall of Winds
Among the most evocative places of the whole Royal Palace, the Sala dei Venti is located inside a medieval tower (called Joharia) in full Arab-Norman style in front of the Sala di Ruggero. Currently, it is covered by a wooden ceiling of eighteenth-century origin with the rose of the winds in the center.
The Sala di Ruggero takes its name from Ruggero II, while the extraordinary interior decorations are due to his son Guglielmo I. The mosaics, in secular print, depict zoomorphic elements, phytomorphs and anthropomorphs that juggle hunting scenes and allegorical moments of the Norman period. It is thought that the aim was to highlight a symbolic story of the Genoardo, that is the garden-paradise of Islamic tradition.
The Punic-Roman Walls
Following an archaeological campaign in 1984, architectural elements have emerged dating back to the ancient Punic city walls of Palermo of the fifth century B.C. Among the various testimonies, the remains of the ancient city gates stand out, a postman remained practically intact and part of the ashlars perfectly squared.
The Maqueda Courtyard
Between 1598 and 1601, the Duke of Maqueda Bernardino de Cardenas y Portugal was Viceroy of Sicily and started a very important urban project throughout the city, contributing at the same time to a majestic redevelopment of the Royal Palace. He was responsible for the construction of the Maqueda Courtyard, built in 1600, consisting of three porches.
The Royal Gardens
Finally, inside the Stick of San Pietro, there are the Gardens of the Royal Palace built by the architect Antonio Ferramolino of 1560. The present garden is rich in flowerbeds with curvilinear edges that host numerous tree species of subtropical origin.
Once you have finished your visit to Palazzo Reale, the advice is to go to the beach of Mondello and enjoy an ice cream while admiring the sea and breathing the fresh and regenerating air typical of the city of Palermo!
Copertina: Federico Secondo
