Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
1
Around the
Quattro Canti
The busy intersection of Corso Vittorio Emanuele and Via Maqueda is known as the
Quat-
tro Canti
. Forming the civic heart of Palermo, this crossroad divides the historic nucleus
into four traditional quarters - Albergheria, Capo, Vucciria and La Kalsa.
La Martorana
CHURCH
(Chiesa di Santa Maria dell'Ammiraglio; Piazza Bellini 3; donation requested; 8.30am-1pm &
3.30-5.30pm Mon-Sat, 8.30am-1pm Sun)
On the southern side of Piazza Bellini, this luminously
beautiful, recently restored 12th-century church was endowed by King Roger's Syrian
emir, George of Antioch, and was originally planned as a mosque. Delicate Fatimid pillars
support a domed cupola that depicts Christ enthroned amid his archangels. The interior is
best appreciated in the morning, when sunlight illuminates magnificent Byzantine mosa-
ics.
Chiesa Capitolare
di San Cataldo
(Piazza Bellini 3; admission €2.50; 9.30am-12.30pm & 3-6pm)
This 12th-century church in
Arab-Norman style is one of Palermo's most striking buildings. With its dusky-pink bi-
joux domes, solid square shape, blind arcading and delicate tracery, it illustrates perfectly
the synthesis of Arab and Norman architectural styles. The interior, while more austere, is
still beautiful, with its inlaid floor and lovely stone-and-brickwork in the arches and
domes.
CHURCH
Fontana Pretoria
This huge and ornate fountain, with tiered basins and sculptures rippling in concentric
circles, forms the centrepiece of
Piazza Pretoria
, a spacious square just south of the Quattro
Canti. The city bought the fountain in 1573; however, the flagrant nudity of the provocat-
ive nymphs proved too much for Sicilian church-goers attending Mass next door, and they
prudishly dubbed it the Fountain of Shame.
FOUNTAIN
TOP OF CHAPTER
