Cattedrale di Palermo

The cathedral of Palermo

Palermo's cathedral is, oddly, not the city's greatest church.

It is a hodgepodge of styles rather uncomfortably knitted together, from the original 1185 Norman structure (visible in the towers and apses at the east end), through the 15th-century Catalan-Gothic overhaul, to the incongruous 1801 baroque dome inflicted upon it by Ferdinando Fuga (who also revamped the interior).

The portico

You enter partway down the right aisle, through the well-crafted Catalan-Gothic porch, with 15th-century wooden doors and a column on the far left salvaged from the 9th-century mosque that once stood here (carved with a worn Arabic inscription from the Koran).

The cathedral interior

Once inside, to your left are the dark, gated off chapels containing a little congregation of the Norman royal tombs, housing the mortal remains of, among others, Emperor Frederick II in the left front sarcophagus, and Roger II under the mosaicked canopy tomb behind him.

The first chapel to the right of the entrance (technically, the fourth chapel on the right aisle) sports a Pietro Novelli altarpiece.

The former High Altar sculptural ensemble by Antonello Gagini has since been dismantled and dispersed throughout the church: its statues line the nave, a bit still serves as the main altar, and three reliefs and an Assumption reside in the second chapel of the left aisle.

The seventh chapel on the left has a nice Madonna statue by Francesco Laurana.

The crypt and treasury

Don't bother paying to visit the boring collection of royal tombs in the crypt, but the treasury is worthwhile for the nifty, 12th-century bejeweled cap-like crown they found perched atop the skull of Constance of Aragon, Frederick II’s wife, when they opened her tomb in the 18th century.

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