It is at the very heart of the Old City of Palermo. The intersection is called the Quattro Canti (which I think translates to "Four Songs"). In the photo above we see just one corner of the intersection. The other three corners are very similar architecturally although the statues and fountains on the buildings are all distinctive.

The locals say that at any time of day, at least one corner will be lit by the sun. Most of the prime tourist sites are either on one of these two streets or close by. The Via Vittorio Emanuelle stretches in a North Easterly direction all the way from the Norman Palace to the Port of Palermo.

As you can see in the next photo, the statues of Gods and Goddesses are depicted in full glorious nudity and this apparently caused quite a stir in Palermo which at the time was quite a conservative town. The Fontana Pretoria later acquired the nickname "The Fountain of Shame".

(Have a look at the little map above to show you where it is.)

In 827 AD, Sicily was for the first time attacked by Arab Muslims, and soon Sicily became governed by a succession of Arab Emirs. The Muslims ruled Sicily for the next two centuries.

In 1072 AD, a Norman (read Viking) nobleman and adventurer called Roger of Hauteville succeeded in capturing Palermo and was invested as Roger I, Count of Sicily. He had a son who eventually became Roger II, and was anointed by the Pope as the first King of Sicily.

Roger II became an enlightened ruler who allowed Arabs, Jews, Greeks and Romans to live in harmony during his reign. Roger II is credited with creating an artistic fusion of Byzantine, Arab, Norman and Roman art and architecture which is a pronounced feature of the most interesting and beautiful art which we can see in Sicily today.

Her name was Adelaide del Vasto and she was born in the North of what we now call Italy. In 1089 AD, when she was just 14, she married Roger I, who was then 58 years old. It was his third marriage. They had two sons, Simon and Roger II. When Roger I died, Adelaide was only 26, but she became the Regent of Sicily as her eldest son, Simon, was only 9 at the time.

Simon died at the age of 12, so his younger brother, Roger II, became the Count of Sicily at the tender age of 10. Adelaide continued as Regent until Roger II took control in 1112 AD. (Roger II became the first King of Sicily in 1130 AD.)

There is ample evidence to suggest that Adelaide was instrumental in establishing the policy of using local officials to help govern the territory, as well as ensuring that the various ethnic and religious groups in Sicily were protected and allowed to live their lives in harmony and without fear of persecution.

What a woman!

Oh, and in case you might think from reading the above that Adelaide del Vasto was just a soft, bleeding-heart liberal, she was quite capable of using "severe force" to put down rebellions in Sicily and Calabria. I repeat: What a woman!

We have thus lost much of the Arab and Byzantine art and architecture of Sicily (and elsewhere, alas). Fortunately, in this church, there is still much of the Old left for us to enjoy and admire.

Methinks that it is largely thanks to present day mass tourism that the idea of preserving heritage has become popular once again. Hooray! (Let's face it: would you spend a small fortune to travel overseas in order to look at a bunch of cold, glass office blocks?)

Note the Arabic 8-pointed stars on the lower part of the tower.

Unfortunately, the interior of San Cataldo has been ravaged over the centuries and is now not worth seeing, in my opinion. Others may disagree.

The Park on the left is part of the Villa Bonanno.

The balustrades and statues on the building behind the cafe are typical of the old facades of Palermo.

Take a closer look at the young kids playfully cavorting on the marble frieze just below the horse sculptures.

Alas, I have acquired the nickmane of "Tightarse Paul". However, staying in the not-so-posh districts of towns and cities can have its advantages. Here I stumbled across a wood-working shop which had a distinct woody smell.

It was converted to a mosque after the Arab conquest of Sicily in the 9th Century.

Much of the building has since been altered according to the fashions of the day, and it now has an interior which is predominatly classical Renaissance in style.

When I was in Palermo for the very first time, several decades ago, I heard a lovely story which I can only hope to be true. According to this legend, somehow the Palatine Chapel became sealed off from the rest of the Norman Palace and remained completely hidden for centuries.

Then, during the Risorgimento, when Garibaldi was leading the charge to unify Italy, there was an upsurge of interest in Italy's past, and local historical societies arose spontaneously all over the brand new country.

In Palermo, the local historical society began a project to make a complete inventory of the Norman Palace of Palermo. Precise measurements were taken of all the rooms. During this process, the local historians began to realise that a large chunk of the Palace seemed to be missing... or hidden. Very carefully, they knocked a small hole in one of the walls and crawled through with lighted torches. Lo and behold, they had rediscovered the undisturbed Cappella Palatina of Roger II.

Such a romantic account fully deserves to be believed!

My whole body shook with pleasure.

The basic architecture is Norman. The floor was made by the best Roman tile-layers. The walls were covered in Byzantine mosaics; and the ceiling was made and painted by top Islamic craftsmen imported from Cairo.

Note also that the columns were recycled from the Pagan temples of the Ancient Greeks.

Also, take note of the Arabic 8-pointed stars in the diagonal strip. The birds and foliage in the decoration would not be out of place in a mosque in Istanbul.