Cappella Palatina

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View of the altar, the front nave and the side aisles. In the central apse and the dome, Christ is depicted as a pantocrator . In the side aisles on the left Paulus of Tarsus and on the right Simon Peter .
Sanctuary
Aisle
Image program of the choir

The Cappella Palatina ("palace chapel") was built from 1132 to 1140 AD under King Roger II in the Norman-Arabic-Byzantine style as the court chapel of the Palazzo dei Normanni in Palermo . The consecration took place in 1140, the mosaic in the dome is dated 1143. When Rogers II died in 1154, the design was not yet completely finished. The Cappella Palatina is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Arab-Norman Palermo and the cathedrals of Cefalù and Monreale .

construction

The structure and iconography of the Cappella Palatina are determined by the fact that they should correspond to the two rites that were widespread in Sicily at the time, the Byzantine rite that has prevailed in Sicily since the 8th century and the Roman rite reintroduced by the Norman rulers. While according to the Byzantine (Eastern) tradition the iconography is to be read vertically (as in La Martorana ), i.e. starting from the dome downwards, according to the Latin (Western) tradition it is to be read horizontally (as in the Cathedral of Monreale ), i.e. from the front (from the apse ) to the rear. Both traditions are linked in the Cappella Palatina. A three-aisled nave in the style of a western basilica adjoins the presbytery with a dome, which is designed like a central building .

The floor is decorated with ornate marble and porphyry . The wooden ceiling is richly decorated with Arabic carving ( muqarnas ). This is supported by massive marble columns with Corinthian capitals . The highlight, however, are probably the mosaics on the walls and in the dome . While eight angels are lined up around Christ as pantocrator in the dome , depictions of the life of Christ and Paul as well as episodes from the Old Testament are on the side walls . The mosaic stones are made of colored glass decorated with gold leaf .

Trilingual inscription (Latin, Greek, Arabic) in the Palazzo Reale to commemorate the construction of a hydrochronometer in 1142.

Another special feature is an inscription to the left of the entrance in Latin, Greek and Arabic, which illustrates the close cultural interrelationships at the time of its creation. The inscription is reminiscent of a water clock that Roger II had built.

On the entrance facade in the inner courtyard of the palace there are mosaics from the 19th century, which were commissioned by Ferdinand I (Sicily) . The walnut entrance gate, made by Rosario Bagnasco, also dates from the 19th century.

From 2003 to 2008 the chapel and its mosaics were restored with the support of the German entrepreneur and art patron Reinhold Würth .

literature

  • Jonathan M. Bloom: Almoravid Geometric Design in the Pavement of the Capella Palatina in Palermo. In: Bernard O'Kane (Ed.): The Iconography of Islamic Art. Studies in Honor of Robert Hillenbrand . Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh 2005, pp. 61-80
  • Otto Demus : The Mosaics of Norman Sicily . Philosophical Library, New York 1950.
  • Thomas Dittelbach , Dorothée Sack : La chiesa inferiore della Cappella Palatina a Palermo. Contesti - progetti - rilievi. = The lower church of Palermo's Palatine Chapel. = The lower church of the Cappella Palatina in Palermo. Swiridoff, Künzelsau 2005, ISBN 3-89929-058-5 .
  • Joachim Poeschke : Mosaics in Italy 300-1300. Hirmer, Munich 2009, pp. 246-252, ISBN 978-3-7774-2101-8

Web links

Commons : Capella Palatina  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Arab-Norman Palermo and the Cathedral Churches of Cefalú and Monreale on the World Heritage Center website
  2. ↑ Stimme.de, April 29, 2006

Coordinates: 38 ° 6 ′ 39.4 ″  N , 13 ° 21 ′ 12.6 ″  E