Arab-Norman style

In the years 1061-1091, the Normans, led by Robert Guiscard and his younger brother Roger I, conquered Sicily , which was under the rule of the Arabs for two previous centuries. In 1072, after the capture of Palermo , Robert Guiscard, who had previously received the title of Duke of Sicily from the pope, transferred power over the island to Roger I with the title of Grand Count. The son and second successor of Roger I Roger II , taking advantage of the weakening and then extinction of the descendants of Guiscard, managed to achieve complete independence, and in 1127 to absorb the continental possessions of the Normans. In 1130, Roger II united Sicily, Apulia and Calabria into a single Sicilian kingdom . Despite the fall of several dynasties and internal vicissitudes, Sicily until the Sicilian Vespers in 1282 was one of the strongest states in Italy and the Mediterranean.

By the time the Norman conquest ended, Sicily was a heterogeneous state from an ethno-confessional point of view. The predominant proportion of the population was Greeks - Christians of the Byzantine rite and Muslim Arabs. In subsequent years due to immigration, an influential stratum of Christians of the Latin rite appeared . In order to maintain the stability of the kingdom, the Norman rulers ( Roger I , Adelaide of Savona , Roger II , William I the Evil , William II the Good ) consciously adhered to a policy of religious and national tolerance, preserving and strengthening the established traditions, rights and privileges of various communities. As a result of this policy, the Sicilian kingdom was a rare example of a tolerant society for the Middle Ages.

The described political system was reflected in numerous architectural structures of the 11th - 13th centuries , in which Arabian, Byzantine , Romanesque and Norman features were bizarrely combined. The prevailing eclectic style, called the Arab-Norman, is unique and unique to Sicily.

In the following centuries, most of the buildings of the Arab-Norman style were either destroyed or rebuilt, most often in the Baroque style . In the XIX - XX centuries, against the backdrop of a flared up interest in the Norman heritage, the restorers managed to restore a number of structures of the Arab-Norman style in a look close to the original. Currently, the monuments of the Arab-Norman style, along with the classical ancient heritage, are the main tourist attractions of Sicily.

The main monuments of the Arab-Norman style include:

• Churches in Palermo :

• Cathedral
• Palatine Chapel
• Martorana (Santa Maria del Ammirallo),
• San Cataldo
• San Giovanni degli Eremiti ,
• San Giovanni del Lebrosi ,
• Magione
• Santo Spirito

• Royal Palaces in Palermo:

• Norman Palace
• Cisa ,
• Cuba and Cubola ,

• other churches and cathedrals:

• Monreale Cathedral ,
• Cefalu Cathedral
• Santi Pietro e Paolo d'Agro ( province of Messina ).

Arab influence

Among the characteristic Arabic features of Norman buildings, the most common is the decoration of the walls in the form of a complex stone pattern of interwoven false arches . In the most monumental cathedrals ( Palermo and Montreal ), this pattern is complemented by sophisticated abstract inlays of lava and tuff , floral ornaments , and teeth.

One of the most noticeable features of the Arab-Norman style are bifors - windows divided in half vertically by a narrow column. Bifor windows are widespread in both spiritual and secular buildings.

The art of Arab carpenters is also reflected in the monuments of the Arab-Norman style. In the Palatine Chapel and the Cathedral of Montreal, a carved wooden ceiling resembles a vault of a cave with stalactites , which is typical of the Fatimid mosques of Egypt and North Africa. The ceiling is covered with geometric patterns and kufic inscriptions. A feature of Sicilian carved ceilings is the presence of images of people and animals forbidden by the Koran on them, which can be explained by the remoteness of Sicily from the main centers of Islamic culture, and the influence of Christian fine art.

The charm of the Norman kings and seniors with Arab traditions was reflected in secular buildings, including the royal palaces - Cisa , Cuba , Palazzo Normanni . All of them are completely different from the castles of Western European feudal lords. Typically Arab fountains and pools have been preserved in the palace rooms and gardens. The mosaics of Cisza and the Norman Palace (Roger Hall) show the secular life of the royal court, far from traditional Christian piety. In these palaces, according to chroniclers, there were harems, the joys of which Roger II , William I Evil and William II Good did not shun.

Arab courtyards, surrounded by a colonnade, became part of church buildings. Arabic-style cloisters are preserved in Cefalu , Maggion , San Giovanni degli Eremiti . The most notable is the cloister of the Monreale Monastery. It represents in plan a regular square with a side of 47 meters, bounded by an Arab colonnade. 104 narrow lancet arches are supported by 208 (104 pairs) columns with carved capitals . All columns of the Monreale cloister vary in material, finish and, most importantly, the character of the capital. The carefully thought-out performance of small details, combined with the harmony of the whole ensemble, make, according to experts, the Montreal Monastery, one of the most expressive in Italy.

The domes of the churches of San Cataldo and San Giovanni degli Eremiti, reminiscent of the traditional domes of the mosques of Egypt and the Maghreb, also testify to Arab influence.

Byzantine mosaic

The main legacy inherited by the Arab-Norman style from Byzantine art was mosaics . Mosaics of the Comnenian period ( XII century ) are best preserved precisely in Sicily. These include mosaics of the cathedrals of Cefalu and Montreal , the church of Martorana and the Palatine Chapel .

The most favorite plot of Sicilian mosaicists was the image of Christ Pantocrator in heavenly glory. At the same time, although the mosaicists strictly followed the Byzantine canons, the images of Pantocrator in each of the listed temples are individual, endowed with their own specific features and characteristics. The images of Christ Pantocrator in Cefalалу and Montreal became recognized examples of Byzantine mosaics.

An equally common plot for Sicilian mosaics was the image of the Virgin and the Apostles. Without moving away from the deesis row traditional for Byzantium, the Sicilian mosaicists managed to achieve the effect of the living complicity of the saints in the prayer of the community. On the mosaics of Cefalалу and Montreal, the special poses of the apostles created the illusion of their conversation with each other, witnesses and participants of which are all worshipers in the temple.

Sicilian mosaicists created one of the world's largest mosaic cycles in the cathedral of Montreal - about 10,000 square meters. m. area. Mosaics of Montreal fall into five thematic cycles - Christ in glory, festive, miracles of Christ , the book of Genesis and the life of the apostles Peter and Paul . The same cycles in a smaller, chamber version were also performed in the Palatine Chapel.

Romance and Norman influence

The cathedrals and churches built in the Arab-Norman style bear the imprint of Romanesque architecture . They are three-nave basilicas , divided into naves by massive arches resting on columns . The columns in most of the churches were taken from ancient buildings, and for the Cathedral of Montreal, the columns were brought from mainland Italy. The belfries of many Arab-Norman churches are typically Romanesque campaigns .

The cathedrals of Montreal and Cefalu, which have retained their original appearance best of all, resemble the cathedrals of northern Europe with their facades, betraying the origin of their founders. The appearance of these buildings is striking at the same time asceticism and power, severity and triumph. The western facades in Cefalu and Montreal are limited by massive towers, which reinforces their similarity with castle architecture.

Strictly speaking, the Arab-Norman style has always been endemic, inherent only to Sicilian architecture. Nevertheless, buildings in this style are also found outside of Sicily - in other territories that were part of the Sicilian kingdom . So, in Malta, in the cities of Mdina and Vittoriosa , which have preserved the historical pre-Johnnite buildings, you can see private houses of the Arab-Norman style. These include the Palazzo Santa Sofia and the so-called Norman House on the main street of Mdina. Many Arab-Norman features were preserved in the repeatedly rebuilt Cathedral of Salerno . The buildings of the Arab-Norman style should be distinguished from the many Norman buildings of purely Romanesque architecture (for example, the famous Basilica of St. Nicholas in Bari ).

Various architectural influences and elements reminiscent of the Arab-Norman style are characteristic of many regions of the Mediterranean , whose population before the Arab conquests of the 7th century AD e. was predominantly Christian. Then the population of its southern part, as well as the Levant, converted to Islam . In a number of buffer regions of Southern Europe, the Islamic and Christian populations lived side by side for a long time (the Iberian Peninsula , the Balkans , the Mediterranean islands - Crete , Cyprus , etc.). Moreover, the Muslim population often occupied a leading role in politics, religion, art and other fields. For example, in Spain, the rule of Muslims lasted until the end of the 15th century, in the Balkans - until the beginning of the 20th. The Christians and crypto-Christians of the region were well acquainted with the culture and art of the Islamic world and often consciously or unconsciously borrowed its architectural elements when erecting their churches and prayers. Many originally Christian churches were turned into mosques, and vice versa.

• Byzantine architecture
• Norman Architecture
• Islam in Italy
• History of Islam in Southern Italy
• Sicilian Emirate

• Norwich J. The rise and sunset of the Sicilian kingdom. Normans in Sicily: 1130–1194. - M. , 2005. - ISBN 5-9524-1752-3 .