After the Roman conquest in 254 B.C., Cefalù became a decuman city with the Latin name Cephaloedium. The civitates decumane were obliged to pay one tenth of their harvest to the city of Rome each year. In fact, Cefalù did not experience a considerable amount of economic growth during this period. ...

The fortress of Kephaloidion, built between the 5th and 4th centuries B.C., stretched out at the foot of the grand natural fortification and thus occupied a privileged position. Recent archaeological excavations, both in the necropolis and in the urban part, have shed light on the ancient site, docu...

Henry VI was born in Nijmegen on 1 November 1165 to Frederick I Barbarossa and Beatrice of Burgundy. A highly educated and perceptive ruler, he was interested in the arts and sciences and knew not only Latin but also Roman and Canon law. In 1169 he became King of Germany, and, in 1191, he became Emp...

Henry VI was born in Nijmegen on 1 November 1165 to Frederick I Barbarossa and Beatrice of Burgundy. A highly educated and perceptive ruler, he was interested in the arts and sciences and knew not only Latin but also Roman and Canon law. In 1169 he became King of Germany, and, in 1191, he became Emp...

Born in Palermo in 1729, Giuseppe Venanzio Marvuglia trained in his native city and later in Rome, where in 1758 he came second in the Premio Clementino and was greatly influenced by Winckelmann and the Neoclassical movement. He returned to Sicily between 1759 and 1760 and devoted himself to numerou...

After the restoration of the bell tower in 1726 by Giovanni Amico, numerous transformations were carried out from 1781, especially inside the Cathedral. While the initial project was the work of the royal architect Ferdinando Fuga, the work was carried out by the architect Venanzio Marvuglia, with m...

In the Greek cross layout, the 'arms' are of equal size, whereas in the Latin cross layout, the nave and transept are of different lengths. The transept, in fact, intersecting the longitudinal nave at right angles, gives the church its classic layout. The point of intersection, called the cross, is ...

The chanson de geste, or “Songs of Heroic Deeds”, consist of around eighty compositions written in the Langue d'Oil. The epic literary genre was developed from the 11th century onwards in northern France. The main themes are courtly love, the exploits of the paladins, and the battles between Chr...

The Christ Pantocrator of the dome is surrounded by a host of four archangels and four angels. While the angels have not been identified, the archangels can be identified as Michael, Gabriel, Uriel, and Raphael....

The etimasia symbolises the expectation of Jesus' return. In the Palatine Chapel, the empty throne that will welcome Christ as the universal judge at the end of time, as written in the Apocalypse, is depicted within a medallion. The dove of the Holy Spirit rests before the throne, upon which the Boo...