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,...

At the centre of the dome and surrounded by four adoring angels, the Christ Pantocrator of Santa Maria dell'Ammiraglio is enclosed in a medallion containing verses from the Gospel of John: “I am the light of the world; He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life." The...

Roger I, son of Tancred of Hauteville, was Count of Calabria and Sicily. He was born in Hauteville-la-Guichard, Normandy in 1031. Roger, known as the Great Count, was responsible for the conquest of Sicily, together with his brother Robert Guiscard. After the 1061 landing in Messina and the surrende...

Roger I, son of Tancred of Hauteville, was Count of Calabria and Sicily. He was born in Hauteville-la-Guichard, Normandy in 1031.Roger, known as the Great Count, was responsible for the conquest of Sicily, together with his brother Robert Guiscard. After the 1061 landing in Messina and the surrender...

Robert of Hauteville, known as Guiscard, son of Tancred and an able military leader, married the Salerno princess Sikelgaita in his second marriage. His story was thus linked to that of the city of Salerno, which he besieged and conquered in 1076. Robert was the first Norman prince of Salerno: the c...

Successor of the Grand Count Roger I of Hauteville, Roger II was born in Mileto on 22 December 1095. When Duke William died without an heir, he was appointed Duke of Salerno and, despite the hostility of Pope Honorius II, he obtained important victories in Calabria and Apulia in a short space of tim...

Giuseppe Patricolo, born in Palermo in 1834, was a restorer and architect. Architect of the Royal House and Royal Sites of Campagna in Palermo, it was thanks to him that numerous historical properties were restored. Among these are the churches of San Francesco d'Assisi, San Cataldo, Santo Spirito, ...

Nephew of the Dominican architect Andrea Palma, Nicolò was born in Trapani in 1694. His artistic activity took place in the city of Palermo where, in 1730, he was appointed architect of the Senate and engineer of the Royal Patrimony. He worked on the façade of Santa Maria dell'Ammiraglio and on nu...

The Norman kingdom became a melting pot of different worlds, languages and religions, not only Western Latin but also Eastern Byzantine and Islamic Arabic. The rulers succeeded in creating a dialogue between the people of the Mediterranean, based on peaceful coexistence, cooperation and the mixing o...

Olivio Sozzi was born in Catania in 1690. He studied drawing both in Palermo and Rome, in the Sebastiano Conca’s workshop, where he learned classical-style architecture. He returned to Sicily and was engaged in several cities: Messina, Enna, Siracusa, Ragusa, Palermo, Catania. In 1763, he worked o...