Church of San Cataldo, Palermo, Italy

Erected in 1154 as a notable example of the Arab-Norman architecture which flourished in Sicily under Norman rule on the island, the Church of San Cataldo is annexed to that of Santa Maria dell'Ammiraglio. In the 19th century it was restored and brought back to a form more similar to the original medieval edifice.

The church has a rectangular plan with blind arches, partially occupied by windows. The ceiling has three characteristics red, bulge domes (cubole) and Arab-style merlons. The church provides a typical example of the Arab-Norman architecture, which is unique to Sicily. The plan of the church shows the predilection of the Normans for simple and severe forms, derived from their military formation. Moreover, the building shows how international the language of Norman architecture was at the time, as the vocabulary which marks parts of the church, like the bell tower, can be tracked down in coeval buildings like the cathedral of Laon and the Abbaye aux Dames in Caen, both in Northern France, or the cathedral of Durham in England. At the same time, the church shows features shared by Islamic and Byzantine architecture, such as the preference for cubic forms, the blind arches which articulate the external walls of the church and the typical spherical red domes on the roof.

The interior has a nave with two aisles. The naked walls are faced by spolia columns with Byzantine style arcades. The pavement is the original one and has a splendid mosaic decoration. Also original is the main altar.

References:

Wikipedia

Religious sites in Italy

User Reviews

Arthit Yodyunyong (2 years ago)
2.5€ to enter to the church. It's only one chapel inside.

Marko Cvetkovic (2 years ago)
From outside it looks nice with all the different cultures that put their style in it. But don't go in! It's a fraud. There is a lady that has a courtain closed hiding the view of interior part. You pay 3€ because you are courious what's inside. But there is nothing! Empty walls, no fresacas, no interior. When I asked the lady why they are charging it, is there something special I dont see, but she answered me: "it's a church from 12 century". OK... but there are better places to take a look inside for free in Palermo. So dont go in :)

Tony Duffy (2 years ago)
Quaint old church with unique domes on top. Very quirky.

Steve Oldfield (2 years ago)
SCAM Tiny church with nothing to see. €2.5 entry.

Kuala Bound (2 years ago)
High on the ancient city walls, stands the impressive sight given by this XII c Norman church with three unusual little bulge domes, and with merlons of Arab tradition. Originally it was the chapel of a Palace (no more existing), built by the Admiral Majone di Bari but after his killing in 1160 the church interior (paved with beautiful polychrom marble mosaic) was never finished. Three naves are separated by columns retrieved from previous buildings. For six centuries it was property of the Monreale Benedictins till when in 1787 was used as postal office ! Its present aspect is due to restoration carried out in 1885 meant to free it from transformations and bring it back to how it was. Still the question got no clear reply: which was the original colour of the "red" (more pink to grey) domes? Since 1930s the church belongs to the Order of the Holy Sepulchre.

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Broch of Gurness

The Broch of Gurness is an Iron Age broch village. Settlement here began sometime between 500 and 200 BC. At the centre of the settlement is a stone tower or broch, which once probably reached a height of around 10 metres. Its interior is divided into sections by upright slabs. The tower features two skins of drystone walls, with stone-floored galleries in between. These are accessed by steps. Stone ledges suggest that there was once an upper storey with a timber floor. The roof would have been thatched, surrounded by a wall walk linked by stairs to the ground floor. The broch features two hearths and a subterranean stone cistern with steps leading down into it. It is thought to have some religious significance, relating to an Iron Age cult of the underground.

The remains of the central tower are up to 3.6 metres high, and the stone walls are up to 4.1 metres thick. The tower was likely inhabited by the principal family or clan of the area but also served as a last resort for the village in case of an attack.

The broch continued to be inhabited while it began to collapse and the original structures were altered. The cistern was filled in and the interior was repartitioned. The ruin visible today reflects this secondary phase of the broch's use.

The site is surrounded by three ditches cut out of the rock with stone ramparts, encircling an area of around 45 metres diameter. The remains of numerous small stone dwellings with small yards and sheds can be found between the inner ditch and the tower. These were built after the tower, but were a part of the settlement's initial conception. A 'main street' connects the outer entrance to the broch. The settlement is the best-preserved of all broch villages.

Pieces of a Roman amphora dating to before 60 AD were found here, lending weight to the record that a 'King of Orkney' submitted to Emperor Claudius at Colchester in 43 AD.

At some point after 100 AD the broch was abandoned and the ditches filled in. It is thought that settlement at the broch continued into the 5th century AD, the period known as Pictish times. By that time the broch was not used anymore and some of its stones were reused to build smaller dwellings on top of the earlier buildings. Until about the 8th century, the site was just a single farmstead.

In the 9th century, a Norse woman was buried at the site in a stone-lined grave with two bronze brooches and a sickle and knife made from iron. Other finds suggest that Norse men were buried here too.

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