 |
| Picture is a mosaic from the Palatine Chapel |
Ysabella was captured and taken to the royal palace by the cook in
Malice Stalks the Leopard. This is an ancient edifice, built on Phoenician foundations from around 700 BC. The Carthaginians had taken over by about 400 BC, and Palermo was a main battleground in the Punic Wars, but by the time of Byzantine domination, Syracuse became more prominent. The Arabs assumed power about 800 AD and rebuilt Palermo around the Al-Kasr citadel, but it became a Norman palace once Guiscard arrived in 1071. It now serves as the site of the Regional Assembly (parliament) of Sicily. The palace includes the Palatine Chapel, a main tourist site in the city. It is Romanesque in its floor plan and features a painted Arabic ceiling (murqarnas)in which you can find lions, eagles, the game of chess, and dancing. Expert craftsmen installed the large central mosaic of Christ Pantocrator and the icons of St. Peter and St. James. Inlaid stone covers the floor and lower walls. The throne sits in the chapel, and behind it you can find the Aragon coat of arms added after 1282. Of course, this is right at the time of our trilogy, so it is another actual event of the times. Can you see the masons working in the dim light from a nearby window?
