Palermo, Sicily, Italy, the cathedral

 

Palermo. la cattedrale

Palermo's cathedral was built by Frederick II who was both Holy Roman Emperor and sovran of the Kingdom of Sicily. He was known as stupor mundi or wonder of the world for his intellect, broad mindedness and great culture. The birth of the Renaissance can be traced to Sicily. His court gave birth to the scuola siciliana, the Sicilian school that was the first literary movement in Italy. The sonnet BTW, was first developed by  Jacopo Lentini an early Italian poet who along with Cielo D'Alcamo and others established this prolific school that was the true beginning of the Italian language. A century before Dante who called Sicilians the true fathers of Italian and the first. But Frederick had a great foe, the Papacy. Because of geography, the papal states were now surrounded both north and south so the Pope felt trapped. His answer was to have Frederick poisoned while he was hunting in Puglia. What can I say. Nevertheless this splendid church is where our greatest leader is buried. He loved Palermo and made it a truly cosmopolitan city of learning and culture. Sicily was the only place where Christians of the Eastern and western churches, Jews and Arabs all lived together and got along splendidly. This is something that we Sicilians still have in our culture. At any rate, this church should be visited if one is ever in Palermo.

Cremona, the cathedral

Cremona, Italy, the birthplace of string musical instruments - makers like Stradivari, Amati and Guarnieri all had their roots here - is a lovely city in spite of its many parking violation traps. The food is from heaven end the people are very friendly. The Museo del Violino is a must place to visit. The art of string instrument making is still alive here with many firms engaged in this highly skilled craft. The cattedrale is located smack in the center of tow and these are a few images from its interiors.

Cefalu

This beautiful town east of Palermo on Sicily's north coast is worth another visit. famous for it's mosaics it also has superb examples of Norman architecture. These photos are all around the famous church and show the cloister and the general area surrounding the church. The place is a bit touristy and I avoided the usual tourist trappings that go along with such places.

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Cefalu, la cattedrale

Before Cefalu became very touristy, it's main attraction was and of course still is, it's monumental  cathedral whose mosaics rival hose of Ravenna.  Connoisseurs have always raved about them and it;s easy to see why. Built by king Rogers the Second, a Norman, it precedes the wonderful Gothic cathedrals that were later built in France. This  style was never popular in Italy whose sole example is the duomo di Milano that is not a full fledged Gothic cathedral. Italian preferred to go on with the Romanesque style that although laden with superb works of art both in paintings ans sculptures, architecturally, at least, was not as spectacular. Of course the Renaissance churches in Florence with their amazing cupolas were architectural feats of unsurpassed complexity and achievement.
What we have in Cefalu is a rather spartan church from the outside but absolutely glorious on the inside. The same can be said of the cathedrals of Monreale and Palermo, among others.

Have a wonderful Thursday / Buon giovedi'