{ Chapter One }

Palazzo Reale

The oldest royal residence in Europe and the seat of the kings of Sicily during the Norman domination. Under Frederick II it served not only as the seat of government but was a multicultural hub, a center for writers, artists, and scientists from the world over. Abandoned after his departure from Palermo, it was restored in the sixteenth century, and thereafter served as the official residence of the Spanish viceroys. Known today as the Palazzo dei Normanni, it is the seat of Sicily’s parliament and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The fusion of Latin, Arab, and Byzantine styles is most evident in the palazzo’s Cappella Palatina (Palatine Chapel), commissioned by Roger II after being crowned King of Sicily in 1130, and described by Maupassant as “the most beautiful religious jewel ever dreamed by human thought”.

Palatine Chapel: interior looking west (photo Ariel Fein)

Drawn by D.L. Leitch 1840

Palatine Chapel: Christ Pantokrator (photo Allie Caulfield)

Palatine Chapel: Sanctuary mosaics (photo Ariel Fein)

Gian Giacomo Teodoro Trivulzio was an Italian Cardinal and viceroy of Sicily. After the uprising of 1646 he had two bastions built, called Santa Maria and San Michele, facing the piazza of the Palazzo Reale, in order to protect it from mass insurrections. AC, 3.

the two bastions built by Cardinal Trivulzio

Known as the Teatro Marmoreo, a sculptural group by Carlo Aprile, created to celebrate the glory of Philip IV, King of Spain. The four known parts of the world are represented in the imposing Baroque pedestal, on which stood a bronze statue of Philip IV. The statue was destroyed during the Sicilian Revolution of 1848 (its metal was used to build cannons) and after the restoration of the Bourbon Regime eight years later, it was replaced by a marble statue of Philip V by Nunzio Morello.

the monument of Philip IV

Natoli provides a long list of his many titles; he served as viceroy of Sicily, from May 1696 to July 1701. Under Spanish direct rule (1516-1713) Sicily was governed by a viceroy, usually a nobleman, appointed by the Spanish king.

Pedro Cólon de Portugal

The most significant public building in the city, built on the orders of Magistrate Pietro Speciale in 1470. Today, it is called the Palazzo delle Aquile (named after the eagles that decorate its exterior) and is the seat of the Municipality of Palermo. PCG, 33.

Palazzo Pretorio

Originally called Lo Steri (hosterium, or fortified palace), begun in 1307 by the powerful Chiaramonte family and completed in 1380. From 1600-1782 it was the seat of the Inquisition; some graffiti, restored and displayed in the Sala delle Armi, provide a fascinating historical record of the persecutions. Known today as the Palazzo Chiaramonte. Ellen Grady, Sicily: Blue Guide, 47-48.

Palazzo Steri

The Holy Office of the Inquisition. The Sicilian Inquisition operated in absolute autonomy from the Roman Holy See. A Sicilian Grand Inquisitor was in charge of the Sicilian Tribunal, whose other members were appointed by the viceroy. The Inquisition was formally abolished in 1782.

Sant’Offizio

The Peace of Rijswijk was a series of treaties signed in the Dutch City of Rijswijk in September 1697, ending the Nine Years’ War, a conflict between Louis XIV’s France and the Grand Alliance, an anti-French coalition formed in 1689, composed of England, the Dutch Republic, and the Archduchy of Austria, with the later additions of Spain and Savoy.

Castle Rijswijk in Holland

With the advent of Spanish rule, the giurati who formed the city council representing the different districts of the city, assumed the title of Senators. They enjoyed considerable privileges and powers and were granted the title Grandee of Spain. The Senate monitored the execution of public works, the annual provisions, and all city events, and was chaired by the Praetor, who had command of the city’s troops, full powers over public health and hygiene, and administered the public bank. AC, 4.

Senate of Palermo

The body responsible for checking the validity and merit of the accounts that all officials who handled public money were required to submit. RLD, 381.

the Tribunal of the Royal Patrimony

The main street of the city has been virtually unchanged, from the point where the Palazzo Reale is located, to the ancient port, the Cala. Cassaro comes from the Arabic al-ksar (castle), as a large portion of the city was fortified during the period of Muslim rule. In the Middle Ages it was called Via Marmorea because it was paved with stone, and in 1567 named Via Toledo after the Viceroy García de Toledo, who had it extended to the Church of Portosalvo. A place of processions, festivals, and commerce, it was named after Vittorio Emanuele II after 1860, but is still known to the people of Palermo as the Cassaro. AC, 4-5.

Cassaro

since the decline of the Spanish monarchy

The seventeenth century was a period of decline and decay for the Spanish Hapsburgs. This culminated during the reign of Charles II (the Bewitched), the last Hapsburg monarch. Charles died without leaving an heir, precipitating the War of the Spanish Succession.

Natoli: La cavalcata attraversò il piano del Palazzo. Throughout the book Natoli uses the word piano in reference to flat, open spaces/level ground. This translation uses the word piazza. Today this area is the Piazza della Vittoria.

The procession crossed the piazza

The monumental city gate that leads to the Cassaro, erected in 1583 in honor of Charles the V’s victorious arrival in Palermo, following his victorious military campaign in Tunis in 1535. One of the best examples of classically inspired Mannerism, foreshadowing the advent of the Baroque style, its outer elevation is still Renaissance, although elaborated by a wide range of decorative features. PCG, 44.

Porta Nuova

The Cuba was located in the Genoard (meaning “heaven on earth”), the extensive hunting grounds of the Norman kings. Rich in Arabic architectural details, and originally surrounded by water, it was completed in 1180 for William II and served as his personal recreation pavilion. The name Cuba comes from the Arabic kubbeh, meaning dome, referring to the structure that once surmounted the building. The Cuba is the scene of one of the stories in Bocaccio’s Decameron.

Castello della Cuba

La Cuba as it may have appeared in the 12th century

Although the characters in the novel are Natoli’s creation, in reality the Albamonte were lords of the territory of Motta (today Motta d’Affermo, a comune in the municipality of Messina) in the fifteenth century. RLD, 382

Don Raimondo Albamonte

A city in Puglia; in 1513 a tournament was provoked by a French knight, Charles de la Motte, who, after drinking too much of the local wine, made disparaging remarks about the Italians, who were part of the Spanish army based in Barletta. The tournament consisted of a mounted tourney between thirteen Italians who were part of the Spanish army based in Barletta, and thirteen French knights who were based in the nearby town of Canosa. The Italians won the battle, and the French had to pay ransom. Barletta has since acquired the appellation Città della Disfida. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Challenge_of_Barletta.

The event was popularized by Massimo D’Azeglio in his novel, Ettore Fieramosca, or the Challenge of Barletta.

Barletta

Monument to the Challenge of Barletta

Natoli places the palazzo near the convent of the Madonna della Mercè. The essence of the tower is also imaginary, but in fact at that time many noble palazzi incorporated ancient urban towers or ones that were part of the city walls. RLD, 382.

The building referred to was identified as the Torre di Montalbano by the historian Vincenzo Di Giovanni, in his 1615 manuscript, finally published in 1872. The palazzo is commonly referred to as the birthplace of the painter Gaspare Serenario. AC, 9.

Torre di Montalbano

Jerusalem Delivered is an epic poem set during the First Crusade, by the Italian poet Torquato Tasso (1544-95); Adonis is a mythological poem by the Italian poet Giambattista Marino (1569-1625).