Page 61 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Sicily

EAST P ALERMO  59

You enter by the bell tower, mosaic-patterned floor. In the columns and statues, affords
whose dome was des troyed middle of the nave is a series access to a garden. The façade
in the 1726 earthquake. The of Arab arches supported by has three doorways with
Baroque interior is decor ated ancient columns. double arched lintels and
with stuc coes and enamel. convex rustication, a series
The bay vaulting has frescoes w Galleria d’arte of blind arches and windows.
and the original church was Pointed arches run along the
decorated with 12th-century Moderna Sant’Anna length of the nave.
mosaics. The cupola shows Via Sant’Anna 21, Palermo. Map 2 D3.
Christ Pantocrator Surrounded Tel 091-843 16 05. Open 9:30am–
by Angels; on the tambour are 6:30pm Tue–Sun. & 7
The Prophets and The Four ∑ gampalermo.it
Evangelists, and on the walls
are an Annunciation, The Nativity Housed in the restored
and The Presentation at the 15th-century convent of
Temple. The most intriguing Sant’Anna, this gallery features
mosaic is of Roger II being a range of works from the past
crowned; it is the only known 150 years. Many of the Italian and
portrait of the king. international artists on display
have featured prominently in
the Venice Biennale.
q San Cataldo
Piazza Bellini 3. Map 1 C4. Tel 091-348 e La Magione
728. Open 9:30am–12:30pm, 3:30–
5:30pm Mon–Sat, 9:30am–1:30pm Via Magione 44. Map 2 D4. The roofless interior of Santa Maria
Sun & hols. & 8 Tel 091-617 05 96. Open summer: dello Spasimo
9am–7pm daily; winter: 9am–7pm
San Cataldo was the chapel of Mon–Sat, 9am–1pm Sun. Cloister & r Santa Maria dello
a palazzo built by Maio of Bari, Chapels: Open 9:30am–6:30pm Tue– Spasimo
William I’s admiral, in the 12th Sat, 9:30am–12:30pm Sun & hols. &
century. It has kept the linear Via dello Spasimo. Map 2 E4. Tel 091-
Arab-Norman style, with three Founded by Matteo d’Aiello 616 14 86. Open 9:30am–5:30pm daily.
red domes raised above the in the mid-1100s, this church
wall, the windows with pointed was frequently rebuilt and Santa Maria dello Spasimo lies
arches and the battlement was then damaged in the in the heart of the Kalsa quarter.
decoration. Inscriptions with bombings of 1943. Careful It was founded in 1506 by the
quotations from the Koran can restoration has revived its monks of Santa Maria di Monte
still be seen. The interior has no original Norman features. A Oliveto and was dedicated to
decoration except for the Baroque portico, with marble the Virgin Mary grieving before
Christ on the Cross, subject of
a painting by Raphael in 1516,
which is now in the Prado
Museum in Madrid. Santa Maria
was the last example of Spanish
Gothic architecture in the city.
The cells and courtyards of the
monastery were built around
the church and in 1536 the
complex, at that time outside
the city walls, was incorporated
into a rampart, so that it now
looks like a watchtower.
The church was bought by
the city and became, in turn,
a theatre, warehouse, hospice
and hospital, while all the time
falling into a state of neglect.
In 1995, the Spasimo area was
redeveloped and transformed
into a cultural centre for
exhibitions and concerts.
Performances are held inside
the church, part of which no
San Cataldo, with its characteristic Arab architectural elements longer has a roof.

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