The Cathedral of Palermo, a World Heritage Site
by Ignazio Caloggero
Antonino Bova: 1760 engraving of the exterior of the Cathedral
The Cathedral is one of the nine monuments included in the Unesco site "Arab-Norman Palermo and the Cathedrals of Cefalù and Monreale"
The entrance to the Palermo Cathedral, dedicated to Virgin Mary of the Assumption it is located in Piazza Duomo which can be reached from Corso Vittorio Emanuele (the Via Cassaro, the backbone of the ancient city). On the area of the current Cathedral of Palermo, towards the fourth century. a first church was built which was destroyed by the vandals and of which no traces remain. In 604, a basilica dedicated to the Virgin Mary of the Assumption was built in the thick place, transformed into a mosque after the conquest of Palermo by the Saracens in 831. The basilica returned to Christian worship in 1072 with the conquest of Palermo by the Normans. The current Cathedral was built in 1185 by Archbishop Gualtiero Offamilio on the area of the first basilica. The various construction phases followed one another for several centuries, causing the Cathedral to take on various styles.
Antonino Bova: 1760 engraving of the interior of the Cathedral
Central nave. La central nave has wide arches on the sides that rest on capitals supported by columns from the Norman structure and leaned on pillars on which the barrel vault rests. In 1952, some of the statues from the Gaginian tribune demolished during the major restoration of 1781-1801 were placed close to the pillars. G. Spatafora and A. Ferraro in 1535, on the right the stoup attributed to Domenico Gagini (XNUMXth century).
Presbyter. Under the dome is the conciliar altar made by Vincenzo Gorgone. On both sides, the wooden stalls in the Catalan Gothic style (1466). The candelabrum and the episcopal throne on the left come from the Norman church. Above in the basin and in the vault of the choir two frescoes by Mariano Rossi painted between 1802 and 1803: "The expulsion of the Saracens by the Normans" and "The Assumption of the Virgin and the four cardinal virtues". The presbytery is closed by the apsidal basin in which the altar by F. Pinistri (1794) is placed and above it the statue of the Risen Christ. This statue was initially found in the Gaginian tribune demolished during the great restoration of 1781-1801, other statues of the ancient Tribune are placed in niches obtained in the walls of the presbytery.
Crypt. From a Gothic-Catalan portal to the left of the Sacristy of the Canons you enter a room which is what remains of the ancient antitulus of the Norman church and from here you enter the Crypt, which according to some scholars dates back to the sixth century and which was subsequently modified following the construction of the Norman church. It is a rectangular room divided into two naves by columns obtained from previous constructions. The crypt contains 23 tombs, where mainly Palermo archbishops are buried, for the sarcophagi urns of the Roman, Hellenic and early Christian periods have been reused, many of them have been modified and equipped with new covers.
Urn of Greek origin with a statue of di Giovanni Paternò by A. Gagini
Chronology of the different construction phases
1250: The two orders of the side towers are completed.
1342: Work begins on the construction of the last three orders of the four corner towers.
1352: Construction of the western portal is completed
1426: The southern portal is built (Antonino Gambara)
1510 - 1574: Antonello Gagini and sons build the marble tribune to decorate the central apse basin
1537: Construction of the northern portico (Fazio and Vincenzo Gagini)
1568: Completion of the new sacristy (entrance portals by Vincenzo Gagini)
1589: Construction of the chapels along the nave (Arch. Marullo)
1635: Construction of the chapel of S. Rosalia.
1659: The northern portal is redone
1709: The wooden roof of the side aisles is replaced by cross vaults.
1781 - 1801: Major restoration according to the project of the Florentine architect Ferdinando Fuga: Under the direction of Venanzio Marvuglia, Salvatore Attinelli and Frate Felice La Licata from Palermo, the radical transformation of the Cathedral is implemented, which makes it as we see it at present. The interior of the Cathedral is completely redone in neoclassical style, with a Latin cross and three naves. The central nave that closes to the east with the large presbytery is divided from the aisles by a system of pillars against which the ancient columns of the Gualterian cathedral are placed against them for decorative purposes. The side aisles were enlarged and ended by the chapels of the Sacramento (northern nave) and of S. Rosalia (southern aisle). The northern portal was suppressed and the southern one moved to its present position. The renovations were actually much more invasive and radical than the Fuga projects, the restoration intervened to change the original appearance of the complex. The Gaginian Tribune was literally demolished, the statues initially placed outside, in 1952 were brought back inside and placed on shelves leaning against the pilaster strips. Traces of some elements of the Gaginian Tribune have been dispersed, except for a few fragments kept in the deposits of the Diocesan Museum of Palermo.
1797: Creation of the baptismal font (Filippo and Gaetano Pennino)
1805: Completion of the bell tower (E. Palazzotto).
1952: The marble flooring is created. The statue of the "Madonna della Conca d'oro" is placed on the bell tower
1961: Realization of the bronze door of the main entrance (Filippo Sgarlata).