{ Chapter Seventeen }
Natoli: due primi titoli del regno, literally, two “first titles” of the kingdom, referred to the respective rank of the nobles.
The Sicilian Parliament, established during the Norman era and considered among the most ancient of Europe was composed of three branches. The first branch was the feudal branch, composed of nobles, the first ten of whom had the title of pari del regno, and had at its head the most noble among them, the prerogative for centuries of the Prince of Butera of Casa Branciforte. AC, x.
According to legend the Branciforti descended from Obizzo, a knight who fought under Charlemagne. They were among the first barons of the kingdom. The Prince of Butera, as primo titolo del regno or "first peer of the kingdom" was a high ranking noble and thus accorded certain privileges, such as holding the king's standard during official ceremonies.
First peers of the kingdom
Natoli is probably referring to the fifteenth century Church of San Nicolò dei Greci, annexed in 1734 to the Greek Albanian seminary founded by Father Giorgio Guzzetta in Via Lampedusa in the Loggia district. The buildings were destroyed during the aerial bombardment of 1943. In Palermo there was another church dedicated to San Nicolò dei Greci called “la Carruba”, near the Church of Santa Maria della Gancia; it belonged to a brotherhood established in 1481; in the early eighteenth century, construction of a new church was begun but never completed; the edge of the façade in Via Quattro Aprile remains. AC, 147.
San Nicolò dei Greci
Two of the five gates of the Cala. The first was opened in 1570 next to the Church of Santa Maria della Catena; the goods destined for the nearby Dogana Grande (Customs House) came through there. It was demolished in 1852. The second, older gate, gave access to Via dei Casari that led into the Vucciria market. The other gates were at the northern end, Porta di Piedigrotta, and near the Vicaria prison Porta della Calcina and Porta della Pescheria. AC, 149.
Teatro di Santa Cecilia
Founded in 1692 by the Unione dei Musici, a corporation that united musicians and entertainers.
Porta della Dogana and Porta Carbone
The convent annexed to the Church of Santa Maria della Catena is located between Via Vittorio Emanuele and the Cala, near Porta Felice. It was built in 1602 by the Theatine Fathers, who lived there before the construction of the convent on Via Maqueda. Since 1844 it has been home to the State Archives. AC, 147.