La Martorana e San Cataldo

The story

Santa Maria dell’Ammiraglio was founded in 1143 by George of Antioch, admiral to Roger II. It is called the Martorana after the convent of Eloisa Martorana, whose nuns took it over in the 15th century, the same nuns credited with the marzipan fruit that carries the name.

The Byzantine mosaics are among the oldest in Sicily: Roger II is shown being crowned directly by Christ, and George kneels at the feet of the Virgin. In the 17th and 18th centuries the church was extended and decorated in Baroque style, so the two eras share one nave. Today the Italo-Albanian community celebrates the Byzantine rite here.

San Cataldo, next door, was built around 1160 by Maio of Bari, admiral to William I: three red domes, a bare interior, never decorated. Both have been part of the UNESCO site since 2015.

Why it is worth it

Step into the Martorana and look straight up at the dome: Christ blessing, surrounded by angels, is the image that stays with you. Then find the two panels of Roger and George near the entrance. San Cataldo is the opposite: bare stone, light dropping from the domes, silence. They stand ten metres apart and feel like two different worlds.