Santa Maria dell'Ammiraglio

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La Martorana, original central building (left), baroque facade and bell tower (right)

Santa Maria dell'Ammiraglio (Saint Mary of Ammiratus ) or for Arbëresh San Nicolò dei Greci , also called La Martorana , is a church building in Palermo . It is not far from the Quattro Canti on the south side of Piazza Bellini next to the Church of San Cataldo .

history

inside view

The church was founded by George of Antioch , the Ammiratus of King Rogers II of Sicily, and built from 1143 onwards. It has undergone numerous structural changes over the course of history. Originally it was built over the plan of a Greek cross in a square shape. Up until the 13th century, the city court sat in the atrium of the church. In 1435 the church was attached to the Benedictine monastery of Eloisia Martorana. Hence it has its nickname.

From 1588 the church was given an elongated shape by incorporating the original atrium into the building. During this renovation, the central apse was also torn down and expanded to form a rectangular chancel. In the 17th century, a baroque facade was added to the former atrium facing Piazza Bellini . During a restoration in the 19th century, the medieval state was partially restored.

The bell tower , which was erected on the side opposite the church to the atrium, but has been directly attached to the west facade of the church since the renovation in the 16th century, is still in its original state on its lower two floors. The upper floors were added in the 14th century in the Catalan Gothic style .

Since 1943 La Martorana has been the seat of the parish of San Nicolò dei Greci with a Byzantine rite for all Italo-Greek believers living in Palermo and a co-cathedral of the Piana degli Albanesi eparchy .

Interior

Dedication mosaic (click on the image for transcription and translation)

The interior of the cross-domed church has three aisles. The aisles are separated from each other by round arches that rest on columns with Corinthian capitals . The ceiling vaults and the arches are covered with Byzantine gold ground mosaics. The iconography is based on the Byzantine liturgy . The main direction of the iconography therefore does not go from front to back, as in the case of the long buildings above the floor plan of a Latin cross, but from top to bottom.

Christ in the dome mosaic

At the highest point of the church, in the mosaic of the crossing dome, Jesus Christ is depicted as Pantocrator . At his feet lie the four archangels Michael, Gabriel, Raphael and Uriel in a worshiping position. On the wooden edge that separates the dome from the drum, the words of a hymn in Kufic script and Greek can still be recognized: “We praise you, we adore you, we thank you for your power and glory; Lord, King of Heaven, Almighty Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, Lord of God, Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world. "

Eight Old Testament prophets (Isaiah, David, Moses, Zacharias, Jeremiah, Daniel, Elijah and Elisha) are depicted on the sides of the octagonal drum of the dome, and the four evangelists in the corner niches at the transition of the drum into the crossing square . The vaults on the side of the crossing show eight of the twelve apostles , namely Peter, Andrew, Paul, James, Thomas, Philip, Simon and Bartholomew. The edge arches of the crossing have medallions depicting martyrs . The Annunciation is depicted on the vault of the triumphal arch . The mosaics of the Martorane precede those of the Capella Palatina and the Cathedral of Monreale . The main altarpiece is by Vincenzo degli Azani .

After the renovation from the 17th century, the apse chapel, the former narthex and some areas of the aisles were frescoed by Antonio Grano (1685), Guglielmo Borremans (1717) and Olivio Sozzi (1744). At the same time, the mosaics of the church founders were transferred to the former narthex. On the left is George of Antioch, who throws himself down in front of Our Lady praying , on the right Roger II, who is crowned king by Christ himself. The side portal in front of it is closed by a wooden door with Arabic carvings. Two columns in the entrance area also have Arabic inscriptions, to the left of the entrance the words "Victory, Conquest, Grandeur and Good Luck", to the right excerpts from the 16th and 19th suras of the Koran, which correspond to Christian revelation. This may come as a surprise, but the tolerant treatment of Muslims was characteristic of Norman rule in Sicily. The Christian princes even allowed Arabic as the official language (alongside Latin, Greek and Norman French), which also explains the Arabic inscriptions in the church.

literature

  • Brigit Carnabuci: Sicily. Greek temples, Roman villas, Norman cathedrals and baroque cities in the center of the Mediterranean (=  DuMont art travel guide ). 6th, updated edition. DuMont Reiseverlag, Ostfildern 2011, ISBN 978-3-7701-4385-6 .
  • Rodo Santoro: The Martorana and San Cataldo. Arnone Verlag, Palermo 2005, ISBN 88-87663-71-8 .
  • Mark R. Hesslinger: The image of the Pantocrator in the dome mosaic of Santa Maria dell'Ammiraglio in Palermo. In: Eckhard Leuschner, Mark R. Hesslinger (ed.): The image of God in Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Imhof Verlag, Petersberg 2009, ISBN 978-3-86568-463-9 , pp. 93-116.
  • Ernst Kitzinger : The Mosaics of St. Mary's of the Admiral in Palermo. Dumbarton Oaks, Washington 1990, ISBN 0-88402-179-2 .

Web links

Commons : La Martorana  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Brigit Carnabuci. Sicily. DuMont Reiseverlag, Ostfildern 2013. p. 253
  2. ↑ Brigit Carnabuci. Sicily. DuMont Reiseverlag, Ostfildern 2013. p. 255
  3. ^ John Julius Norwich: Sicily . Klett-Cotta, 2017, p. 88 .

Coordinates: 38 ° 6 ′ 53.4 "  N , 13 ° 21 ′ 46.6"  E