Page 81 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Sicily

FUR THER AFIELD  79

An ornate fountain with a sculpture in the middle at Orto Botanico
0 Orto Botanico on its right side and on the Cataldo, see p59). The façade has
apse. The two-aisle nave with a small porch with a bell tower
Via Abramo Lincoln 2B. Map 2 E4.
Tel 091-2389 12 36. Open Mar & Oct: three apses is bare but full of above. Inside the church there
9am–5pm; Apr & Sep: 9am–6pm; atmosphere. The wooden are three apses and a ceiling
May–Aug: 9am–7pm; Nov–Feb: ceiling has floral ornamen tation with trusses. Digs to the right
9am–4pm. & ∑ ortobotanico. and there is a fine wooden of the church have unearthed
unipa.it crucifix over the high altar. remains of the Saracen Yahia
fortress, which once defended
Laid out in 1785, this garden w San Giovanni southeastern Palermo.
has attained international fame
thanks to the wealth and range dei Lebbrosi e Ponte
of its plant species: palm trees, Via Cappello 38. Tel 091-475 024.
bamboo, dracaenas, various Open 9:30–11am, 4–7pm Mon–Sat dell’Ammiraglio
cacti, euphorbias, spiny kapok (am only Tue); 7:30am–12:30pm Via dei Mille.
trees with bottle-shaped trunks, Sun & hols.
pineapples and huge tropical The Admiral’s Bridge used to
plants. One of the marvels is a One of the oldest Norman span the Oreto river before the
150-year-old Ficus magnolioides churches in Sicily lies in the latter was diverted. It is made
fig tree with aerial roots. The middle of a luxuriant garden of large cambered blocks of
Neo-Classical Gymnasium (now of palms. San Giovanni dei limestone resting on 12 pointed
a museum), library and herbaria Lebbrosi was founded in 1071 arches, five of them no more
are by the entrance, a pond by Roger I and, in 1119, a lepers’ than small openings in the
with waterlilies and papyrus is hospital was built next to it, imposts. This beautiful and
in the centre, and glasshouses hence its name. It was most amazingly well-preserved
line both sides. probably constructed by Arab bridge was built in 1113 by
craftsmen and workers, as can George of Antioch, Roger II’s
be seen in the pointed arches High Admiral (the ammiraglio
q Santo Spirito crowned by arched lintels (also of the name), but is now a
visible in San Giovanni degli rather incongruous sight,
Via Santo Spirito, Cimitero di
Sant’Orsola. Tel 091-422 691. Eremiti, see pp68–9; and San isolated without a river.
Open 8am–noon daily.
Lying inside the Sant’Orsola
Cemetery, this Norman church
was founded by Archbishop
Gualtiero Offamilio in 1178. It is
also known as the “Chiesa dei
Vespri” because, on 31 March
1282, at the hour of Vespers,
a Sicilian uprising against the
Angevin rulers (see p37) began
right in front of the church.
Simple and elegant, like all
Norman churches, Santo Spirito
has black volcanic stone inlay San Giovanni dei Lebbrosi, built in the Arab-Norman style

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