the twelve sons of Tancred de Hauteville, came over from Apulia, where
his brothers, by force of arms, had established themselves as reigning
Counts. Roger found all the civilisation, culture, and well-ordered
bureaucracy of the Moor firmly established. And with this he was too
wise to interfere. Changing nothing of the mode of life of those he
conquered, but simply adding to it the strength of arm and vitality of a
northern race, he became--and those who followed him were--by far the
richest and most magnificent sovereigns of their time in all Europe.
The crypt is architecturally the most interesting part of the interior
of the cathedral. It contains the tombs of twenty-four of Palermo's
archbishops, including that of Walter of the Mill. Among the treasures
in the sacristy is the cap of Constance of Aragon, which was found in
her tomb, when, by order of Ferdinand I., the royal sarcophagi were
opened. On one of the rough gems with which the cap is studded, is
written in Arabic, "In Christ, God, I put my hope." Here, again, is
evidence that the Moor and Christian lived amicably side by side.
Theodoric in Ravenna, and the Norman in Palermo, brought peace to the
land they conquered; and the greatest prosperity that both cities
enjoyed was a consequence of their wisdom, and of their religious
tolerance.
In the fine open square which one reaches at the end of the seemingly
interminable Corso, a Roman house and other very interesting remains are
now being unearthed. The Royal Palace occupies one side of the piazza,
and, being the highest part of the city, is on the site of the old Roman
palace. There is a magnificent view from the observatory situated on the
roof of the building. It is, however, with the beautiful chapel built by
Roger II. in the early part of the twelfth century that we are
concerned. The Cappella Palatina is a perfect gem, and no one who has
once visited it in the morning can ever forget the marvellous effect of
dim light passing through its narrow windows, and illuminating its
wonderful marble and mosaic walls. Three of the bays of the nave are
formed by columns of Egyptian granite which alternate with three of
fluted Greek marble. The composite capitals of the arches are Byzantine
and Corinthian. These arches are stilted and covered in an extremely
rich manner with gorgeous mosaic, and their soffits inlaid with
_tesseræ_ arranged in Moorish designs. The walls of the aisles are lined
with the richest marble slabs, beneath which a beautiful dado of inlaid
Eastern pattern runs round the chapel. The wooden roof of the nave is
honeycombed, and like that of the Alhambra at Granada is arranged with
splendidly coloured and gilded pendentives. Cufic inscriptions find a
place amongst these hanging clusters. The ceilings of the aisles are
coffered and sustain heavy gold bosses, which enrich the gorgeous effect
of their strong colour.
The choir is raised five steps above the nave, from which it is shut off
by a very beautiful marble screen. The stalls are carved perpendicular
work. The fine wooden lectern of very late Gothic design has well-carved
angels kneeling on the four supporting legs. Above these angels four
kings stand around the centre column. On the book-rest repose the old
black-letter parchment psalters. At the top of all, the Virgin and Child
finish off this exceedingly well-designed and executed reading-desk.
Beyond the choir the apse rises four steps. The risers of these steps
and those of the choir are most beautifully inlaid. The colossal mosaic
figure in the semi-dome of the apse is the only mosaic of a late date;
and, aiming at the qualities of a painting, like those on the exterior
of S. Mark's and the cathedral at Orvieto, somewhat mars the uniformity
and simplicity of the _tesseræ_ decoration of the chapel. The floor of
the building is entirely _opus Alexandrinum_. At the west end, a raised
dais for the exclusive use of royalty is railed off, and a portrait of
the reigning sovereign let into the marble panels of the wall. By the
pulpit stands a Byzantine candelabrum. Four lions rending their prey are
at its base. Other animals and birds and figures of men, all fighting
one another, encircle, in orderly confusion, the beautiful inlaid
central column. Above them is a figure of the Almighty, serenely
quiescent. Children, symbolical of innocence and freedom from sin, are
carved round the bowl into which is stuck the huge Easter candle. It is
very difficult to describe the effect of sudden calm that steals over
one when, entering this dark church, with the glare of the sun and the
noise of the streets outside, one is conscious of a very restful gloom,
full of the richest colour, and a silence soothing to the senses. One
somehow feels the gorgeousness of the east combined with the solemnity
of a well-planned sacred interior, and this despite the sudden
transition from light to darkness. There is no other building of like
dimensions which grips one as does the wonderful Cappella Palatina of
Palermo.
La Martorana, away down in the city, may have been as beautiful, but
unfortunately in the year 1590 the nuns of the attached convent ordered
most of the precious mosaics to be stripped from the walls, and a
hideous choir added when these were demolished. Some few are left on the
roof to tell us what a glorious thing this finely proportioned chapel
must have been before religious zeal got the better of artistic taste.
The central apse was likewise taken down a hundred years later, and with
it more priceless mosaic destroyed. The inlaid marble on the walls was
done away with in the eighteenth century. If anything better could have
been found to take the place of the grand mosaics that covered the
interior there might have been an excuse for these acts of vandalism but
when one sees the hideous stucco and wretched mural paintings of bad
design and colour, that have no religious fervour or tendency and
nothing whatever to recommend them in any way, one stands aghast at the
ignorance and stupidity which in the name of religious expediency
destroyed such priceless treasures. Among the little that remains are
two curious mosaics wherein King Roger is crowned by Christ, and the
High Admiral, who founded the church, is dedicating it to the Virgin.
The king is wearing the dalmatic. This he received, together with the
mitre, from the Pope, who found it more diplomatic to confer
ecclesiastical office upon the Norman king than to oppose him in useless
wars.
A little to the south of the Royal Palace, and almost abutting on the
old walls of the city, is S. Giovanni degli Eremiti. The beautiful
cloistered garden, which is adjacent, forms an illustration to this
chapter. The little church is a very early specimen of Norman work on
the plan of the letter T with three apses. On its south side is a tiny
mosque, incorporated with the building and utilised in the old days as a
chapel. The monastery, which existed here in the time of Gregory the
Great, had fallen into disuse when the Normans came to Sicily, and King
Roger restored the old buildings. The interior now is absolutely bare
and the windows unglazed. The Moorish domes give the little church a
very eastern appearance, to which the flat members of the rustic stones
of the cloister arches in no small measure add. It is a peaceful spot
where exotic plants flourish luxuriantly, and vie with all sorts of
flowers in wanton growth.
[Illustration: THE CLOISTERS OF S. GIOVANNI DEGLI EREMITI, PALERMO]
The traveller who has been in Spain will find in the old quarter of
Palermo many palaces that will remind him of Seville, Salamanca, and
other places in the Iberian peninsula. The tawny colour of the South
predominates here, and the two or three courtyards possessed by many of
these palaces will add to his reminiscences. This is not so strange as
it may seem when one considers that from the year 1282, when Pedro of
Aragon was crowned king, to 1713, when Victor Amadeus, Duke of Savoy,
ascended the throne, Sicily was under the rule of the Spaniard. The
great square block of yellow stone in the Piazza Marina, the Palazzo
Chiaramonte, served as the palace of the Spanish Viceroys and
headquarters of the Inquisition. Now known as the Palazzo de' Tribunali,
it is used as the law courts. The ante-chamber of the court room has a
magnificent wooden ceiling. Hunting about in the narrow streets in this
quarter one chances on many a piece of architecture and decorative
sculpture in the grandiose style of the great days of Spain. One or two
good fountains and fine portals add much to the historical charm of a
part of the city which is now occupied by humble folk. The church of S.
Agostino, difficult to find in the slums, has a remarkable façade with a
beautiful wheel window. Delicate white marble pillars radiate from the
Paschal Lamb, which is the hub of the wheel, and three rows of tiny but
beautifully-carved arches interlace and form the tracery of the window.
The chevroned arches of the portal are decorated with acanthus leaves
and arabesques. The capitals of the supporting columns are pomegranates,
and a flat canopy with dripstone of acanthus leaves, beneath which are
almost obliterated frescoes, completes one of the most fascinating
relics of bygone days to be found anywhere in Palermo. It is in the old
quarters, too, that the life of the _cittadini_ is seen in its most
picturesque garb. Fruit shops, full of golden oranges and pale lemons,
prickly pears and great citrons, make gay patches of colour in the
street vista. Glazed tiles, earthenware, and vividly coloured cotton
goods displayed outside the shop fronts or hanging from the walls add to
the variety of the scene. Cookshops, with _pizzi_ and _scaglozzi_, and
olive oil in the frying pan, excite the olfactory nerves in a pleasanter
degree than those in which a particularly strong-flavoured cheese finds
ready purchasers. Excellent wine may be drunk at a very small cost at
the drinking bars, where a jet of clear water is for ever playing over
the marble slabs of the cistern-like counter. Fowls scurry about in
the midst of the throng, and hungry dogs scent a meal in the refuse
heaps of the gutters. All is animation, and all has a touch of the South
that is something more than Italian. It is almost worth while going to
Palermo in order to perambulate her fascinating streets and observe the
ever-changing crowd that peoples them.
[Illustration: MTE. PELLIGRINO, PALERMO]
It is certainly worth the voyage to enter the harbour when the sun is
well up and from the ship's deck watch the splendid panorama unfold
itself as the vessel glides into port. At the foot of Mte Pelligrino,
and where the famous valley of the Conca d'Oro, or Golden Shell, touches
the blue waters of the Mediterranean, lies Palermo. Beyond, with an
inclination upwards to the lower slopes of Mte Cuccio in the distance,
stretches the triangular shaped valley, Mte Cuccio forming the apex of
the triangle. Mountains hem the landscape in on two sides. The whole of
the country between them and the sea is one vast grove of orange and
lemon trees. On the edge of the receding wall of mountains to the right
of the valley in the middle distance, a stately building stands above
the brow of a steep hill. Round it cluster roofs and walls in irregular
lines. This is Monreale. To Monreale we go to study the mosaics. For
though its cathedral boasts of grand twelfth-century bronze doors, and a
very fine portico, the magnificent mosaics that cover the walls of the
interior are its pride and glory.
The decoration of this fine basilica may be described as a coherent mass
of superb mosaics and well selected slabs of grey and white marble
inlaid with panels of Moorish design. Here more than in any other church
in the world has architecture been subordinated to a scheme of
gorgeously coloured decoration. Its Mosaics are Greek in style, with
Greek inscriptions. Moorish designs and arabesques also rival in colour
the extraordinarily intricate gold pattern which sets off the beauty of
the marble walls. On the semi-dome of the central apse is a very
impressive colossal half-length mosaic of the Saviour holding an open
book. Below, are figures of the archangels, Gabriel and Michael, and the
twelve apostles. The vault of the south apse contains a gigantic figure
of S. Peter, and in the corresponding one in the north apse, one of S.
Paul. These two figures are robed in white, and light up the dark
recesses of the deep-toned gold background of the apses in a remarkable
manner. In the choir there is a mosaic over the royal throne very
similar to that in La Martorana, wherein King Roger is being crowned. In
this case Christ places the crown on the head of William the Good. Over
the Archbishop's throne William is represented offering the church to
the Virgin. Sicily was never a fief of the Popes, and these two mosaics
no doubt express the idea that the sovereigns derived their authority
from God alone.
Round the whole of the nave two sets or series of mosaics are arranged
which, beginning at the Flood, illustrate different episodes in biblical
history. Forty-two scenes are depicted in the nave and ten in each aisle
which deal with our Lord's life as well as themes from the Old
Testament. At the west end is a mosaic of S. Castrense, Monreale's
tutelar saint, casting out a devil, and also walking on the sea.
Comparing these wonderful decorations with those at Ravenna and in S.
Mark's, one may at first be more impressed with the apparent
magnificence of the scheme which we find here. The cathedral is larger
than any of Ravenna's churches, and has this advantage over S. Mark's,
that one is better able here to grasp at once the whole idea of the
colour scheme. In S. Mark's one sits and quietly discovers things at
leisure. At Monreale one enters and is immediately overpowered by the
magnificence of the dull gold _tesseræ_ and the gorgeous arrangement of
the sequence of figures which, like a flash, strike one at first sight.
Ravenna can show us better schemes of colour, subtler and more refined.
Ravenna gives us earlier work, and work more naïve, and is for this
reason more attractive and interesting. But it must be admitted that in
no other building of the kind is one impelled to stop suddenly and catch
one's breath, as when first entering Monreale's great basilica.
Eight bays divide the nave from the aisles. Their stilted arches are
supported by granite monoliths. The capitals of these are pure
Corinthian, and Corinthian with cornucopiæ volutes and medallion heads.
Above the abacus of each capital is the simple Norman bowl capital
inlaid with rich mosaic. It is from these that the glorious
colour-scheme springs--above and around, the eye finds nothing but
mosaic. The lower portion of the walls of the aisles is composed of
marble slabs separated from one another by inlay of Moorish design. In
the north chancel aisle are the tombs of Roger, Duke of Apulia, and
Henry, Prince of Capua, two sons of William the Bad. In the south
chancel aisle are the tombs of William the Good and William II. Just as
Palermo's cathedral is a fit resting-place for the remains of some of
the Norman kings, so is this grand fabric for the bodies of those of the
same royal line who here repose in peace.
[Illustration: THE CLOISTERS, MONREALE]
Adjoining the cathedral, on the south side, is all that is left of the
original Benedictine monastery. The celebrated cloisters, of which we
speak, are more Arab than Norman, and more infidel than Christian in
their architecture. The two flat members of the Moorish arches are
decorated with black _tufa_ lozenges and spearheads. The coupled columns
are nowhere approached in beauty and delicacy, save in S. Paolo fuori at
Rome. Arabesques cover some of them; all were at one time richly inlaid
with mosaic. Some are chevroned, others of lozenge pattern, or billeted,
or twisted and spiral. Their capitals are one and all of extreme
interest. One shows on its carved surface Norman knights in chain mail
engaged in combat with Saracens; another, Roman gladiators slaying
Christian victims. Birds, beasts, and subjects from the Old Testament,
intricate foliage and vines add to a variety which is not to be found
anywhere else in the cloistered courts of Italy. The illustration gives
a corner of this beautiful spot where a fountain splashes and plays,
adding to the delights of a well-kept garden and the sweet scent of
flowers.
INDEX
Ahrler, Heinrich, 9
Alberti, Leo Battista, 93, 195
Alexander II, 170
Alexander III., 67
Alfred the Great, 21
Amalfi, 280
Ambrose, S., 13
Angelico, Fra, 197, 236, 255
Angelo, Michael, 136, 188, 191-3, 223, 236, 244, 247-8, 252
Antelami, Benedetto, 141
Antenor, 49
Anthony, S., 49
Ariosto, 101
Arnulphus, 15
Assisi, Church of S. Maria, 211-13;
cathedral, 214;
general description, 214-15
Attila, 7
Augustine, S., 18-19
Augustus, 107
Baldus, 57
Bank of Genoa, 148-9
Barbarossa, Frederick, 67
Bastianino, 103
Bellagio, 2
Bellini, 25
Benedict XI., 205
Benedict XIV., 250
Benenato, 164
Bergamo, cathedral, 24-26;
other buildings, 23-24, 27
Bernardino, S., 202, 204, 224
Bernardone, Giovanni, 215
Bernini, 243, 246-7
Bisone, Bono da, 139
Boethius, 21
Bologna, Giovanni da, 126
Bologna, history, 123-5;
cathedral, 130-1;
other buildings, 125-9, 131-6;
university, 133
Bonannus, 160, 164
Bonaventure, Nicholas, 10
Borromeo, S. Charles, 10-12
Borsi, Pier, 181
Bouillon, Godfrey de, 145
Bramante, 4, 9, 17, 126, 244
Breakspeare, Nicholas, 248
Brescia, Roman remains, 29-30;
la Rotunda, 30-31;
Duomo Nuovo, 31-32;
other buildings, 32-33
Browning, Robert, 81
Brunelleschi, 186, 194, 196
Bruni, Leonardo, 193
Burlammachi, Francesco, 169
Busketus, 159
Byron, 109, 166
Cadenabbia, 2
Caedwalla, 253
Cæsar, Julius, 91, 170
Caligula, 261
Calvin, 101
Camaldoli, 275
Cambio, Arnolfo di, 183, 187, 189, 194, 222
Capri, 265, 277
Carabelli, 9
Caretti, Ilaria, 173
Carracci, 130-1
Carrara family, 51
Catherine, S., 224
Cellini, Benvenuto, 184, 248
Ceolfrid, 192
Charlemagne, 39, 115, 242
Charles V., 130, 230
Chiusi, 202
Cimabue, 196, 213
Clement VII., 230
Colleoni, 26
Columbus, 150
Como, history, 1-2;
cathedral, 2-4;
town hall, 4-5;
industries, 5
Constantine the Great, 241, 243, 250, 253
Correggio, 137, 139, 140, 142
Dante, 37, 49, 109, 180, 185, 193
Diotisalvi, 162, 165
Dominic, S., 134-5
Donatello, 52, 55, 58, 77, 166, 181, 185, 194, 223, 252
Donizetti, 27
Doria, Filippo, 154
Ducci, Agostino, 203
Duccio da Siena, 196
Embrianco, Guglielmo, 145, 151
Enzio, 124, 127, 135
Este family, 99-101
Fabris, Emilie di, 187
Fanti, General, 200
Farnese family, 138
Felsina, 125
Ferrara, history, 99-100;
cathedral, 101-4
Florence, general description, 179-82;
Palazzo Vecchio, 182-4;
Campanile, 186-7;
cathedral, 187-9;
Baptistery, 189-90;
other buildings, 184-186, 190-8
Fiesole, Mino da, 206
Foix, Gaston de, 108
Francis of Assisi, S., 211-2, 215-6
Francis II., King of Naples, 266
Frederick II., Emperor, 57
Frediano, S., 170, 174
Fuga, 289
Gaddi, Agnolo, 194
Gaddi, Taddeo, 186
Galileo, 57, 164
Gambara, 140
Garibaldi, 156, 207
Genoa, history, 145;
general description, 146-8;
cathedral, 151-4;
churches, 154-6;
palaces, 148-51;
rivalry with Pisa, 166
Ghiberti, 189
Giaconda, Fra, 36
Giotto, 49, 52, 58, 186, 194, 198, 213, 248
Giovanni, Fra, 58
Giudetto, 171, 176
Giugni, 175
Glycon, 267
Gozzoli, 165
Grail, Holy, 145
Gregory the Great, 283
Guiscard, Robert, 279-80
Hadrian, 262
Hauteville, Roger de, 291
Hecuba, Queen of Cyprus, 212
Januarius, S., 268-9
Julius II., 244-5
Julius III., 201
Ketterick, John, 194
Lanfranc, 21
Leo XIII., 205
Leopardi, Alessandro, 77
Lombardi, Martino, 77
Lombards, 126, 129, 136
Lucca, history, 169-70;
cathedral, 170-3;
other buildings, 173-8
Luini, Bernardino, 4
Lurago, Rocco, 150
Malatesta family, 93-98
Matthew, S., 282
Mazzuola, 140
Medici family, 12, 183, 190-3, 197-8
Mehemet Ali, 254
Michelozzo, 183
Milan, history, 7, 15;
cathedral, 8-12;
Church of S. Ambrose, 12-15
Mino, Giacomo di, 223
Misericordia, Compagnia della, 181-2
Monreale, 299-303
Montaldo, Leonardo, 155
Morone, Andrea, 51
Myrra, 154
Naples, history, 265-6;
museum, 267;
cathedral, 268-269;
other buildings, 270-5;
general description, 275-7
Nero, 263
Nesso, 1
Nicodemus, 173
Offamilio, Gualterio, 287
Orsini, Niccolo, 75
Orvieto, general description, 229-31, 236-8;
cathedral, 231-6
Pacifico, Beato, 79
Padua, history, 49;
cathedral, 50;
university, 57;
other buildings, 50-59
Palermo, general description, 285-8, 299;
cathedral, 288-292;
Cappella Palatina, 292-295;
other buildings, 295-303
Palladio, 33, 82
Parma, history, 138;
cathedral, 138-141;
Baptistery, 141-2
Parmesan cheese, 22
Paul III., 200
Pavia, history, 17;
cathedral, 17-19;
other buildings, 20-21
Pellegrini, 10, 11
Pepo, 133
Perugia, general description, 199, 208-9;
cathedral, 200-3;
churches, 203-6;
other buildings, 206-8
Perugino, 206-7
Petrarch, 50
Piacenza, Bartolino da, 142
Piacenza, Giovanni da, 143
Pietro, Lorenzo di, 222
Pisa, general description, 157;
cathedral, 158-62;
Baptistery, 162-4;
other buildings, 164-7
Pisano, Andrea, 189
Pisano, Giovanni, 205, 219-20, 222, 232
Pisano, Niccolo, 53, 135-6;
163, 165-6, 177, 199, 221-2, 232
Piscopia, Elena, 57
Pius IV., 11
Polo, Marco, 146
Porta, Guglielmo della, 248
Procida, John of, 282
Puccio, Pietro di, 235
Quercia, Jacopo della, 129
Quercia, Giacomo della, 223
Raphael, 231, 256
Ravenna, history, 107-8;
mosaics, 109-13, 115-7;
cathedral, 113-5;
other buildings, 118-21
Reggio, Niccolo da, 142
Reni, Guido, 135
Ricchini, 12
Riccio, Andrea, 55
Rienzi, 253
Rimini, history, 91-3;
cathedral, 93-8
Robbia, Della, 174, 186, 188, 197
Rocci, Cristoforo, 17
Rodario, 2-3
Romana, Ezzelino da, 141
Romano, Giulio, 9
Rome, general description, 239-41;
S. Peter's, 243-9;
Colosseum, 250;
S. John Lateran, 251-3;
other buildings, 241-3, 253-63
Rossi, Alessandro, 41
Rusca, 9
Salerno, history, 279-80;
cathedral, 280-4
San Marino, 98
Sanmicheli, 36, 40, 45, 55
Sansovino, 33, 54, 62
Savonarola, 182, 184, 197
Scaligeri, 37-9
Siena, general description, 217, 227-8;
cathedral, 218-23;
other buildings, 223-7
Signorelli, Luca, 235-6
Spazi, 2
Talenti, Francesco, 186
Tasso, 101, 145
Terribilia, 126
Theodoric, 108, 120
Thomas Aquinas, S., 273, 279
Tiberius, 179, 265
Titian, 66
Tivoli, 249
Torcello, 86-90
Tours, 14
Trent, Council of, 11
Tribolo, 128-9
Ugolino, 235
Varenna, 2
Vasari, 166, 188, 193
Venice, S. Mark's, 62-73;
Church of SS. Giovanni and Paolo, 73-7;
of the Frari, 77-9;
Doge's palace, 82-5;
other buildings, 61-2, 79-82, 85-6
Verona, history, 35-7;
cathedral, 39-41;
other buildings, 36-38, 41-7
Verrochio, Andrea, 77, 184
Vinci, L. da, 9, 77
Visconti, Gian Galeazzo, 9, 17
Wolvinius, 13
Zeno, S., 43
Zenobius, St., 188
Zuccaro, 188
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End of Project Gutenberg's Cathedral Cities of Italy, by William Wiehe Collins