Born in 1237 to Peter III of Aragon and Constance, daughter of Manfred of Swabia, Frederick II signed the Treaty of Caltabellotta in 1302, putting an end to the Sicilian Vespers, becoming King of Trinacria with the proviso that upon his death the island would be passed on to the Anjou family. He san...

Among the most important chronicles is De Principe Templo Panormitano, by Giovanni Maria Amato in 1728. Published in thirteen books and accompanied by original documents, it is a collection of stories, information and documents covering the period from the first building of the Cathedral to the pres...

Ferdinando was born in Florence in 1699 to Antonio Fuga and Antonia Serravalli. He was first a pupil of Giovan Battista Foglini and then moved to Rome in 1718. In the capital, he had numerous assignments and was appointed Architect of the Sacred Palaces. His fame grew over time, so much so that he w...

There is a reference to the Qur'an in the first column to the left of the southern portico. This is Verse 54 of Surah 7 and specifically: "Who causes the night to cover the day and then the day swiftly pursues the night; Who created the sun and the moon and the stars making them all subservient to H...

A mihrab is a niche inside one of the walls of the mosque, which serves to indicate the direction, or qibla, towards the holy city of Mecca. In fact, during prayer every Muslim is supposed to turn towards the holy place where the Kaaba, the ancient cubic structure at the centre of the Great Mosque, ...

Located in Saudi Arabia, Mecca is the holy city for Muslims, as it was the birthplace of Muhammad, the founder of one of the largest monotheistic religions: Islam. Mecca is home to one of the largest mosques in the world, the Masjid al-Haram. Located inside the mosque is the Kaaba, an ancient cubic ...

In the churchyard or “Planum Ecclesiae” of Palermo Cathedral from the 16th century until the early decades of the 19th century, St. Christina’s fair was held. As early as 1514, a Kingdom report requested of King Ferdinand the Catholic that St. Christina's fair be extended throughout the month ...

Currently inside St Ursula's Cemetery, the church of Santo Spirito was commissioned by Queen Margaret of Navarre and Sicily, who promoted the construction of the building between 1173 and 1178 through Bishop Gualtiero Offamilio. The church was then entrusted to the Cistercian order. It was acknowled...

On 4 September 1169, a violent earthquake struck Catania, the eastern coast of Sicily and southern Calabria. The epicentre was in the Ionian Sea, between the cities of Catania and Syracuse. The tremor reached the 10th degree on the Mercalli scale, while the magnitude is estimated at 7.5. There was s...

Gualtiero, who can be seen depicted in a miniature of the Liber ad honorem augusti by Pietro da Eboli, was Archbishop of Palermo from 1169 to 1190. We do not know for sure the place and date of his birth: he was probably born in Sicily in the first half of the 12th century. He was erroneously and fo...