Palazzo dei Normanni (Norman Palace), Palermo (must see)

Sicily has long been a reef of survival amid the tsunamis of war and invasion that have swept across the island since antiquity. In the 9th century, on one of the highest points of the old city and above earlier Punic remains, the Arab rulers of Palermo established a fortified residence. When Palermo became the capital of Islamic Sicily, this complex formed the core of the emir’s seat of power. Archaeological traces of both the Punic settlement and the Arab fortress can still be found beneath the foundations of what later became the Norman Palace.

When the Normans conquered Palermo in 1072, they established the County of Sicily, later elevated to a kingdom, with Palermo as its capital. Rather than demolishing the existing structure, the Normans transformed the former Arab stronghold into a royal residence. The palace evolved into a complex of interconnected buildings linked by arcades, combining residential, administrative, and ceremonial functions, and surrounded by gardens.

Under King Roger II, the palace reached its most celebrated form. Inside the Norman Palace between 1130 and 1140, he commissioned the Palatine Chapel, intended as a private royal chapel and consecrated in 1140. Dedicated to Saint Peter, it stands as one of the finest expressions of Arab-Norman-Byzantine art in 12th-century Sicily. Its dome, apse, and upper walls are covered in luminous Byzantine mosaics depicting Christ Pantocrator, the Evangelists, and scenes from the Bible.

Over the centuries, the palace passed through many hands. During the Bourbon period, several ceremonial rooms were redesigned, including the Red Room, Yellow Room, and Green Room, and the Hall of Hercules, famous for its fresco cycle depicting the hero. Other notable spaces include the Hall of the Viceroy, the Hall of the Winds, and the Hall of Pompeii.

Within the complex, the Maqueda Courtyard and the Courtyard of the Fountain feature multi-level Renaissance loggias and staircases. Of the original four defensive towers, only two survive today: the Pisan Tower at the south-eastern corner and the Treasure Tower at the south-western corner of the palace.