Church of S. Maria dell’Ammiraglio or Martorana

It was completed in 1143 thanks to a generous donation of the admiral Giorgio d’Antiochia. An Arab traveller, Ibn Jubair, who visited it in 1184, defined it as “the most beautiful work in the world”.

Today, after a careful restoration, it’s still one of the most beautiful religious buildings in Palermo and Sicily. In 1436 it was given to the nuns of the nearby convent “of the Martorana”, reason why its second name is “the chapel of the convent”.

To be able to contain the growing number of nuns, the building underwent an extension work, lengthening it by breaking down the original façade, which was replaced by a Baroque one. When entering the church it’s still possible to see the original Greek cross layout that impressed Ibn Jubair.

The Martorana mosaics, like those of Cefalu and the lovely ones of the Palatine Chapel, were made by a group of artists specially brought from Constantinople to Palermo and who worked here between 1140 and 1155.

Unlike them, however, they didn’t include subsequent additions. At the entrance, on the north side of the nave, there is a dedicated mosaic in which Giorgio d’Antiochia is portrayed at the foot of the Virgin, the latter in perfect state of preservation.

A treasure can be found on the opposite side. Perhaps the most valuable one of Martorana: a mosaic of Ruggero II, who is symbolically crowned by Christ.