As is well known, Normans (i.e. descendants of Vikings from Northern France) conquered Sicily from 999 onwards. They established the Palazzo dei Normanni in Palermo as their headquarters and built this originally Arab defensive fortress into a royal palace (title picture and below). Obviously later occupants have expanded and changed it considerably.
Some of the occupants of the palace have been colourful. E.g. Roger II rose to power in Sicily, but had to fight for the formal recognition of his status (against relatives, the popes and other usual suspects), before he was formally crowned 1130. He built the Cappella Palatina in the Palazzo, incorporating Norman, Saracen, Byzantine and Arabic design into the whole (pictures below).
Although the Cappella decoration is Biblical, for the private rooms, Roger chose more everyday subjects (below).
A bit later, a member of the Hohenstaufen family, Frederick II, was crowned king of Sicily in 1198 and became the Holy Roman Emperor in 1220. He was one of the most remarkable rulers of the Middle Ages – as a canny crusader he crowned himself as king of Jerusalem in 1230, and was called ’Stupor mundi’ (Wonder of the World).
He promoted (and practised) arts and sciences, but strife and wars with the Popes led to four excommunications from the Church, and he died in Southern Italy in 1250. His tomb is in the Palermo Cathedral (above left), but he didn’t look too good when the tomb (above centre) was last opened in 1994 (above right, first half) – it had been slightly better at the previous opening in 1801 (above right, second half).
The Palazzo is still in use by the Sicilian regional administration that meets in one of the rooms created by Roger II – in a somewhat altered form that Roger might not recognise (below left). However, he might easily recognise the Roman-inspired decorations in rooms by some of the latter occupants (below right).
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