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...

The Maramma, or the Fabbrica della Cattedrale (Cathedral Workshop), supervised the construction, restoration and maintenance of the works housed inside the Cathedral. There are also many works commissioned by the organisation, whose symbol was the two-headed eagle. Documents were also stored in the ...

The Tribune was commissioned to the sculptor Antonello Gagini by Archbishop Giovanni Paternò around 1507. The artist worked on this monumental marble work from 1509 until 1536, the year of his death. It was then completed by his successors, his sons Giacomo, Antonio and Vincenzo in 1574. This grand...

Antonello, son of Domenico Gagini, the latter originally from Lugano, grew up in Palermo and then moved to Messina where, between 1498 and 1507, his thriving sculpture workshop was based and he started trading marble directly with Tuscany. Upon his return to Palermo, he established himself as one of...

Designed by Antonio Gambara in 1429, the Cathedral’s portico was also built using reused materials. It is contained between two lateral pylons with a triple order in a repeated pattern. Access is gained through three pointed archways resting on reused columns with capitals decorated with plant mot...

Antonio Gambara is remembered for having created the central doorway of the Cathedral in 1426 and the southern portico a few years later. The latter, completed in 1453, thus after Gambara's death in 1442, created a sort of link between the cathedral and the Cassaro level. In Gothic-Catalan style, it...

The lava inlay ornamentation of Palermo Cathedral is characterised by a decoration with geometric or floral figures in lava stone, housed in tuff ashlars. This type of feature is present in the eastern front, specifically in the decorative bands of the arches and in the oculi positioned at the top o...

As was customary, the Titulo and Antititulo were present in the Sanctuary area of the ancient Norman basilica. These were later removed during the renovation of the entire presbytery. The Antititulo, in particular, was a transverse space that divided the triapsidal area from the Titulo area. The lat...

All liturgical rites used by the Western Latin Church are referred to as the Latin Rite. Originally, it was known as the Roman rite, which then spread to the various Western countries, with the first bishop, the Pope, at the head. The Latin rites include: the Roman rite, the Ambrosian rite, the Angl...

In 395, Emperor Theodosius divided the empire into two parts: a Western part with Rome as its capital and an Eastern part with Constantinople as its capital. Over time, the division also affected the economy, language, art and religion. In particular, the Patriarch of Constantinople wanted to expres...