Completed at the behest of Admiral George of Antioch in 1131/2, the Admiral's Bridge connected Palermo with the gardens beyond the Oreto River. Made of stone with regular calcarenite ashlars, it has two symmetrical ramps supported by seven bays with pointed arches and recessed rings. Each arch is pu...

The architect Paolo Amato was born in Ciminna in 1634. Pupil of Angelo Italia, he became architect to the Senate of Palermo. Among his works in the Sicilian capital are the votive carts for the feast of Santa Rosalia, the church of the Santissimo Salvatore, the aedicule of the Genio del Garraffo, an...

The first organ was installed in the Monreale Cathedral in 1503 by Cardinal Borgia and, in 1600, it was moved to the ambo by Ludovico II de Torres. In 1688, there were various transformations inside the Cathedral. The ambo was removed, the organ was placed on the right side of the presbytery and ano...

Hieratic and solemn, the half-length Christ Pantocrator appears and emerges from a precious golden background, like a casket of divine light. The Pantocrator, from the Greek word for ruler of all things, blesses the faithful with his right hand: the two arched fingers symbolise Christ's dual nature,...

Capital, from the Latin capitellum, diminutive of caput , i.e. head, is an architectural element placed as the end of a load-bearing structure, such as a pilaster or a column. The capital is usually decorated according to the canons of the Classical period and the relevant styles: Doric, Ionic, Cori...

In Christian churches, the presbyteral space is the area around the high altar where the presbyters take their places to worship. This space is located at the end of the nave, ends with the apse and contains the altar. The presbytery is reserved for the clergy and deacons, and in some cases is locat...

The triumphal arch, usually built to commemorate a victory in war or an important event, first appeared in Ancient Rome as a purely celebratory element and was then widely used in the Imperial age. Its shape is that of a large arch-shaped doorway. It may have one or more fornixes, i.e. openings, and...

King Louis IX of France was born in Poissy on 25 April 1214 to Louis VIII of France and Blanche of Castile. On 29 November 1226, he was crowned in the Reims Cathedral but remained under the guardianship of his mother until he came of age. A skilled reformer, he reduced the power of the feudal lords ...

The sarcophagi of the Norman kings William I and William II are placed at the end of the right aisle of the Monreale Cathedral. William I, known as "the Bad", rests in a red porphyry sarcophagus, commissioned by his son. The sarcophagus of William II, the founder of Monreale, is made of white marble...

In the presbytery access arch from the northern transept, the following are depicted: St Venera, St Juliet and St Quiricus, St Catherine, St Cunegonda, St Agatha and St Margaret. In the presbytery access arch from the southern transept, the following are depicted: St Justina, St Thecla, St Sabina, S...