Unesco fact sheet Arab-Norman Palermo and the Cathedrals of Cefalù and Monreale

Year of inclusion in the World Heritage List: 2015

Short description of the site

Located on the northern coast of the Italian island of Sicily, the serial site "Arab-Norman Palermo and the Cathedrals of Cefalù and Monreale" is a series of nine religious and civil structures that date back to the period of the Norman kingdom of Sicily (1130-1194) . Two palaces, three churches, a cathedral, and a bridge are in Palermo, the capital of the kingdom, and two cathedrals are in the municipalities of Monreale and Cefalù.

Collectively, they are an outstanding example of a socio-cultural syncretism between Western, Islamic and Byzantine cultures. This interchange has given rise to an architectural and artistic expression based on the new concepts of space, structure and decoration that spread widely throughout the Mediterranean region.

The monuments that make up the serial site of 6.235 hectares are: Royal Palace and Palatine Chapel; Zisa Palace; Palermo Cathedral; Monreale Cathedral; Cefalù Cathedral; Church of San Giovanni degli Eremiti; Church of Santa Maria dell'Ammiraglio; Church of San Cataldo and the Admiral's Bridge.

Each monument illustrates important aspects of the Western-Islamic-Byzantine multicultural syncretism that characterized the Norman kingdom of Sicily during the 12th century. The innovative reworking of architectural forms, structures and materials and their artistic, decorative and iconographic care - rich and extensive mosaic tiles, floors in "opus sectile" (an ancient artistic technique that uses broken marbles and glass pastes to create floors and decorations inlaid walls - ed -), inlays, sculptural elements, paintings and furnishings - celebrate the fruitful coexistence of people of different origins.

The criteria adopted by Unesco for the inscription of the site in the World Heritage Site:

Criterion (ii):

the site "Arab-Norman Palermo and the Cathedrals of Cefalù and Monreale" testifies to a particular political and cultural condition characterized by the fruitful coexistence of people of different origins (Muslims, Byzantines, Latin, Hebrew, Lombards and French). This interchange has generated a conscious and unique combination of elements derived from the architectural and artistic techniques of the Byzantine, Islamic and Western traditions. This new style contributed to the developments in the architecture of the Tyrrhenian side of southern Italy and spread throughout the medieval Mediterranean region.

Criterion (iv):

the site "Arab-Norman Palermo and the Cathedrals of Cefalù and Monreale" is an extraordinary example of stylistic synthesis that has created new spatial, constructive and decorative concepts through the innovative and coherent reworking of elements from different cultures.

Useful information:

Location: Palermo, Cefalù and Monreale N38 6 39 E13 21 11

Unesco document: arriving

Core zone: 6.24 hectares

Buffer zone: 483 hectares

Unesco web page: website
Unesco Site Management Plan: coming soon

Serial site area

Id	Name	coordinates	Reserved
1487-001	Royal Palace and Palatine Chapel	N38 6 39 E13 21 11	Property: 0.41 Ha Buffer zone: Ha
1487-002	Church of San Giovanni degli Eremiti	N38 6 34.46 E13 21 16.68	Property: 0.3 Ha Buffer zone: Ha
1487-003	Church of Santa Maria dell'Ammiraglio	N38 6 53 E13 21 46	Property: 0.116 Ha Buffer zone: Ha
1487-004	Church of San Cataldo	N38 06 53 E13 21 45	Property: 0.036 Ha Buffer zone: Ha
1487-005	Cathedral of Palermo	N38 06 51.63 E13 21 22	Property: 1.1 Ha Buffer zone: Ha
1487-006	Zisa Palace	N38 7 0 E13 20 29	Property: 0.8 Ha Buffer zone: Ha
1487-007	Admiral's Bridge	N38 6 18 E13 22 29	Property: 0.41 Ha Buffer zone: Ha
1487-008	Cefalù Cathedral	N38 02 24 E14 01 24	Property: 1.394 Ha Buffer zone: Ha
1487-009	Monreale Cathedral	N38 4 55 E13 17 32	Property: 1.669 Ha Buffer zone: Ha

[wp_ad_camp_1]

Arab-Norman Palermo and the Cathedrals of Cefalù and Monreale

Post Views: 1.532

Share / Share