A personal guide tour is an option i want to explore. I check the net, and there are hundreds of local people , who will comein their car and take you where you want to go…
the site lists hundreds for palermo…luckily my friend suggests one… we meet over dinner, and sos, shes a therapist, wants to run for political office, and she is fun ….
the next day we go first to the palazzo della palermo.
The Zisa is a castle in the western part of Palermo in Sicily, southern Italy. It is included in the UNESCO Arab-Norman Palermo and the Cathedral Churches of Cefalù and Monreale World Heritage Site.
The construction was begun in the 12th century by Arabian craftsmen for king William I of Sicily, and completed by his son William II. The edifice had been conceived as summer residence for the Norman kings, as a part of the large hunting resort known as Genoardo (Arabic: Jannat al-arḍ, literally “Paradise on Earth”) that included also the Cuba Sottana, the Cuba Soprana and the Uscibene palace.
The Zisa is clearly inspired by Moorish architecture. The name Zisa itself derives from the Arab term al-Azīz, meaning “dear” or “splendid”. The same word, in Naskh script, is impressed in the entrance, according to the usual habit for the main Islamic edifices of the time. (wikipedia)
Its confusing ..no signs to tell u wherre to buy tickets, where the entrance is… but we manage…and there are families playing… Lydia, my guide reads that this is community housing for refugees.
the kids tell us they are from Ghana….but dont, or cant, answer how long they have been there.
There is some modern looking sculptur…which lands up being the ancient water supply system of pipes for the city.
and some remnants of the original building
dont go in… want to go to montreale…
driving is crazy here…tiny roads, mostly stone … crazy drivers… lots of sursing around… terrible traffic…. its like India…yehehe
on the way an electic car made by benz
we pass an interesting fountain which has an interesting floor pattern… (hmmm maybe for the farmhouse)
theres still fresh water in the fountain…cool and refreshing…
onto monteale…the smazing thing here is the 6000 square feet of marble…
Monreale forms its own archdiocese and is renowned for its Norman-Byzantine cathedral. This has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The cathedral of Monreale is one of the greatest extant examples of Norman architecture anywhere. It was begun in 1174 by William II. In 1182 the church, dedicated to the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, was, by a bull of Pope Lucius III, elevated to the rank of a metropolitan cathedral
The church is a national monument of Italy and one of the most important attractions of Sicily. Its size is 102 meters(334 ft) long and 40 meters wide(131 ft.)
The archiepiscopal palace and monastic buildings on the south side were of great size and magnificence, and were surrounded by a massive precinct wall, crowned at intervals by twelve towers. This has been mostly rebuilt, and but little now remains except ruins of some of the towers, a great part of the monks’ dormitory and frater, and the splendid cloister, completed about 1200. (wikipedia)..
the effect of the huge golden mosaic is amazing
and the deisgns… on the floor and the walls…there are soooo many…. gives me that push to get back to y somaic work
the organ and the confession…
its big, its awesome, it makes one feel small…a little claustraphobic…
its big and awesome…with an enormously complicated history… many different rules, different faiths, different styles of architecture, different periods…. addding and subtracting…. check it out in wikipedia….
ciau for now
Mira's Magical Mystical Tour 