The Diaconicon is a sacred and ritual space located in the presbytery, specifically in the right apse, while the Prothesis is located in the left apse. The Prothesis, Diaconicon and Bema constituted the three curved volumes of the presbytery, according to a solution widely used in early medieval chu...

The Prothesis is a sacred and ritual space located in the presbytery, specifically in the left apse, while the Diaconicon is located in the right apse. The Prothesis, Diaconicon and Bema constituted the three curved volumes of the presbytery, according to a solution widely used in early medieval chu...

The pointed arch, or ogival arch, consists of two circular arches intersecting at the apex. It was used in Islamic and Byzantine architecture and was revived in Sicily (in Cefalù, Palermo and Monreale) during the Norman-Swabian period. It also appeared in Cluny in 1088, with the construction of the...

The pointed arch, or ogival arch, consists of two circular arches intersecting at the apex. It was used in Islamic and Byzantine architecture and was revived in Sicily (in Cefalù, Palermo and Monreale) during the Norman-Swabian period. It also appeared in Cluny in 1088, with the construction of the...

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

The opus sectile consists of the depiction of animal or human figures, using slabs of two or three marbles. Marble pieces, therefore, have a larger size and are evaluated according to opacity, brilliance, colour, shades. Opus tessellatum, which can be found as an alternative to opus sectile, is one ...

The Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, now called the Crypt, is a small church preceded by a narthex, located at the Palatine Chapel and oriented, like Byzantine churches, towards the rising sun. It could date back to the early Norman period, just after the conquest. It is not unusual to think that...

In 1208, Frederick II was no longer under papal protection and was crowned king of Sicily in his own right. The following year, it was the Pope himself who organised the marriage between Frederick and Constance of Aragon, daughter of Peter of Aragon and former widow of Emeric of Hungary. Constance w...

Son of Henry VI of Hohenstaufen and Constance of Hauteville, Frederick II was born in Jesi on 26 November 1194. He was King of Sicily (1198), King of Jerusalem (1225) and Emperor (1220). Orphaned at the age of four, he was entrusted to the guardianship of Pope Innocent III before being crowned Emper...

The Constance of Aragon’s crown, found in the tomb of Frederick II's first wife, was made in the workshop of the Royal Palace in Palermo. Dating from before 1222, the date of the queen's death, the work can be traced back to Norman production due to the refined gold filigree on the cap, the rough ...