In 1208, when Frederick II was no longer under papal protection, he 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. Consta...

The term matroneum derives from the word "matron" and, in medieval churches, was an architectural element consisting of a gallery. More precisely, it was a tribune, located above the side aisles and open to the central one, in which women attended religious worship. Later, the women's gallery, the m...

In 1185, Palermo Cathedral was dedicated and consecrated to the Blessed Virgin of the Assumption. The Assumption of Mary is one of the dogmas of the Catholic Church. Although it began to spread at the end of the 4th and beginning of the 5th century AD, it was not until 1950 that Pope Pius XII procla...

In a document dated March 1187 and addressed to William II, Archbishop Gualtiero begged the king to move the remains of the royal family, which were in the chapel of St Mary Magdalene, to another chapel, yet to be built in a nearby area. The reason was that the chapel was an impediment to ecclesiast...

Among the most important chronicles is De Principe Templo Panormitano, by Giovanni Maria Amato in 1728. Published in thirteen books and accompanied by original documents, it is a collection of stories, information and documents covering the period from the first building of the Cathedral to the pres...

Giovanni Maria Amato was born on 15 July 1660. Son of the Prince of Galati, Antonio Amato, and Francesca Alliata, of the Princes of Villafranca, he was a philosopher, historian and archaeologist. After taking the habit of the Society of Jesus, in 1728 he wrote “De principe tempio Panormitano”, a...

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...

Gothic art, divided into Early Gothic, from 1150 to 1250, High Gothic, from 1250 to 1375, and International Gothic, from 1375 to the first decades of the 15th century, is the connecting period between Romanesque and Renaissance art. The Gothic style influenced architecture, sculpture and the minor a...

The antefix is a decorative element first used in Greek temple architecture and later in Etruscan-Italic and Roman architecture. The decorative elements could be taken from the mythical, animal or plant worlds. Placed high up, in a prominent position, on the heads of the roof beams, it could be made...

A load-bearing architectural element with a curved shape, the arch rests its weight on the piers. The trilobe arch is an arch with a decoration with three final lobes, almost in the shape of a clover or other plant. Consisting of three small arches, it is widely used in Eastern architecture....