Cappella Palatina
Golden Byzantine mosaics, muqarnas wooden ceiling, Norman royal chapel, three cultures in one room.
Photograph · Cappella Palatina
At a glance
Names, makers, dates, and context before the story opens up.
| Italian name | Cappella Palatina |
|---|---|
| What it is | Church |
| Where | Palermo, Sicily |
| Known for | Golden Byzantine mosaics, muqarnas wooden ceiling, Norman royal chapel, three cultures in one room |
The story
Roger II's palace chapel sets Byzantine gold mosaics under an Arab muqarnas ceiling on a Latin plan, three civilizations agreeing perfectly in one room. The Christ Pantocrator in the apse presides over the finest interior of Norman Sicily.
Each statement below is linked to the record or institution that supports it.
The Palatine Chapel, or Cappella Palatina, is the chapel of Palermo's Royal Palace, now commonly called the Norman Palace, and is dedicated to Saint Peter the Apostle.1
The official chapel history places the beginning of construction between 1129 and 1130 at the will of King Roger II, and records inauguration and consecration in 1143.1
The chapel served both a liturgical purpose in its presbytery and a royal representational role: the official history describes the nave as conceived in relation to a throne-room function, with a royal throne on the west wall.1
The oldest mosaics are in the presbytery and date to Roger II's time; the official history places later religious mosaic work in the nave under William I and the side aisles under William II.1
The official history identifies the Pantocrator and angelic court in the dome, with Old Testament prophets in its drum and the four Evangelists.1
The Royal Palace and Palatine Chapel are one component of the UNESCO World Heritage serial property Arab-Norman Palermo and the Cathedral Churches of Cefalú and Monreale, inscribed in 2015. The chapel is not separately inscribed.2
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