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It was founded in 1184 by Gualtiero (Walter) Offamilio, an English Archbishop of Palermo. The Cathedral, consecrated to Virgin Mary, was a reconstruction of the mosque which, in its turn, was constructed over the original Ortodox cathedral which had served the Christian community before the arrival of the Muslim conquerors.
The entrance portal was created in 1425 for the coronation of Alfonso the Magnanimous, while the porch-shaped hut, a capanna, was built in Catalan-Gothic style around 1465. The first column on the left of the porch displays a carved inscription taken from the Koran. The central arch, which is wider and higher offers a rich tortile decoration, the whole of which is recognized as The Tree of Life.
The Church had been restructured several times over the centuries; the aisles were added and the Baroque dome was added by the architect Ferdinando Fuga. The apse is that part which best preserves the original structure.
Today the Basilica interior is divided into three aisles, along the side naves there are various chapels. In the first two chapels of the southern aisle among the sarcophagi there are: the tomb of Roger II, the great Norman King who founded the Kingdom of Sicily in 1130, the porphyry tomb of Frederick II Hohenstaufen, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, Stupor Mundi, grandson of Emperor Frederick Redbeard; that of Fredericks first wife, Constance II of Aragon, whose crown is one of the most valuable pieces of the Cathedral Treasury and the tombs of Constances parents: Constance dAltavilla and Emperor VI. The chapel dedicated to Santa Rosalia, the Patron Saint of Palermo, houses an urn containing the relics of the Santuzza( the way Palermitans call santa Rosalia). Set into the marble inlay of the floor, close to the main altar, is a sun meridian, designed by the astronomer G. Piazzi, the Cathedral treasury and the crypt.
Via Vittorio Emanuele tel. 091.33 43 73 – 329 39 77 513
Church and Area monumentale ( treasure, crypt, royal tombs + roofs…): click here
Visits to the roof see the web site: http://www.cattedrale.palermo.it/
Circuito del Sacro: for discount and cumulative tickets (pass)