The overenthusiastic employee of the Castel Nuovo explained to me in exaggerated English that there were two options to visit this Neapolitan castle. One was to buy a regular ticket for six euros which would allow me to wander through part of the complex on my own. A much better…
The Duomo of Naples or cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta is a complex building, or perhaps rather a building complex. This complex consists of the early Christian church and former cathedral of Santa Restituta, the adjacent baptistery of San Giovanni in Fonte, the medieval cathedral itself and lastly the seventeenth-century…
In the summer of 2024, the big church of San Lorenzo Maggiore was covered in scaffolds. Judging by the images that I found on Google Street View, these scaffolds have been there for years and restoration work seems to progress just slowly. Sadly the orange façade designed by Ferdinando Sanfelice…
The immense church of San Domenico Maggiore can be counted among the most interesting religious buildings in Naples. What is special about the church is that it basically has its main entrance at the back. Most visitors enter the building by taking the stairs on the lively Piazza San Domenico…
Sant’Eligio Maggiore is the first church in Naples built in the city by the new Angevin dynasty. Founder of that dynasty was Charles of Anjou (ca. 1226-1285), the younger brother of the French king Louis IX. In 1266 Charles defeated King Manfred of Sicily – Naples was part of the…
The area in Naples where we find the church of Santa Maria del Carmine is bristling with history. The church adjoins the Piazza del Carmine, which is in fact an extension of the larger Piazza del Mercato. As the name of the latter square indicates, it was used for markets,…
In the year 1250 the city of Florence created the office of Capitano del Popolo. The Capitano was a kind of popular tribune who guarded the interests of the people. In 1255 a public palazzo was built for him, the first of its kind in Florence. The architect was Lapo…
The interior of the cathedral of Monreale is dominated by over 6,000 square metres of mosaics. The dominance of these decorations is so immense that visitors are inclined to think that their visit is all about the mosaics. This is certainly untrue. The cathedral has much more in store for…
Opinions about the cathedral of Palermo are quite divided. Some people think that the building is magnificent, and that the mixture of architectural styles presents us with an intriguing summary of the various phases in Sicilian history. Others, however, believe that the cathedral is simply hideous and lament what later…
“Signore, fiori?” On my way to the famous church of Santo Spirito in Palermo I was asked that question at least five times: whether I wanted to buy flowers. The question is not that odd, as the church is situated in one of the largest cemeteries of the city, that…
The Palazzo dei Normanni is the royal palace of Palermo. The name “palace of the Normans” dates from the twentieth century. It is a name that is not necessarily incorrect – the building was indeed a residence of the Norman kings of Sicily – but it does ignore that many…
There was a big crowd at the Cappella Palatina, the royal chapel of the Palazzo dei Normanni in Palermo. The chapel is not that large, so custodians only let in a limited number of visitors at the same time. When you are waiting in the queue outside, you can take…