Palazzo dei Normanni e Cappella Palatina

The story

A fortress of the emirs already stood on the highest point of the old city when, in the 12th century, the Norman kings turned it into their palace. Today it houses the Sicilian Regional Assembly, which makes it one of the oldest royal residences in Europe still in use.

Roger II commissioned the Cappella Palatina, consecrated in 1140: Byzantine mosaics on gold ground, a wooden muqarnas ceiling painted by craftsmen of Fatimid culture, and marble inlay floors and pulpit. Three traditions in a single room, which is what UNESCO recognised in 2015.

Upstairs, the Sala di Ruggero keeps mosaics of hunting scenes, lions and peacocks among stylised trees.

Why it is worth it

You step into the chapel and for a moment do not know where to look: the gold of the mosaics comes at you from every wall, Christ Pantocrator watches from the apse, and above your head is a ceiling like a honeycomb of carved wood. Sit down if you can and let your eyes adjust. Then follow the Genesis scenes along the nave.