Read aloud by your device's voice. It sounds different on each device.
1132
King Roger II ordered it in 1132, on top of an older chapel
Roger II of Sicily commissioned the chapel in 1132, to be built upon an older chapel, now the crypt, which was constructed around 1080. It took eight years to build, and the mosaics were only partly finished by 1143. The sanctuary, dedicated to Saint Peter, is reminiscent of a domed basilica with three apses.
Three cultures
Byzantine, Norman and Fatimid styles meet in one room
The building is a mixture of Byzantine, Norman and Fatimid architectural styles, which shows the tricultural state of Sicily in the 12th century, after Roger I and Robert Guiscard conquered the island. It is the royal chapel of the Norman Palace in Palermo.
The mosaics
The oldest mosaics cover the dome, and some are secular
The oldest of the mosaics are probably those covering the ceiling, the drum and the dome. The shimmering mosaics of the transept date from the 1140s and are attributed to Byzantine artists. The rest date from the 1160s or 1170s and are cruder, with Latin inscriptions, probably the work of local craftsmen. A few represent oriental flora and fauna, and may be the only substantial passage of secular Byzantine mosaic that survives.
The ceiling
A wooden ceiling carries about 75 inscriptions and scenes of a royal court
The muqarnas ceiling over the nave stands for the cultural diversity of Roger II's kingdom. The intricate muqarnas that still exist in Italy are all in Palermo, mostly in the Zisa Palace and the Cappella Palatina. There are approximately 75 inscriptions, which serve as invocations of regal power. The images show hunters, drinkers, dancers and musicians, and do not form a coherent story.
75inscriptions on the ceiling, invoking royal power
UNESCO
It became part of a UNESCO-listed site in 2015
The Palatine Chapel forms part of the UNESCO-listed site called Arab-Norman Palermo and the Cathedral Churches of Cefalù and Monreale, which was recognized in 2015.
Day 1, afternoon
It comes after Palermo Cathedral. Then Quattro Canti.
More stories from this trip idea
The words are a retelling of the Wikipedia article Cappella Palatina, and are shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. They are checked against those articles, and a fact that is not in them is left out.