Palermo is not only the capitol of Sicily, it also is the largest city on the island, about 800,000 residents. Today we were lead by Virginia (pictured left), another very knowledgeable and energetic guide. I wouldn't say she was our best since she spoke pretty fast and was a little too technical and minute in detail of the information she provided. I think if she had slowed down a bit and stayed a little more toward the basics of our sites, she would have had a more captive audience. Listen to me....I've become a tourist guide critic all of a sudden!
Our first stop landed us in front of two churches, right next to one another. The on the right was called La Chiesa di Santa Maria dell'Ammiraglio. Ammiraglio means "admiral", which originates from George Antioch, the principle admiral and prime minister under King Roger II in the 12th century. While the altar is certainly done in Baroque style, the interior has plenty of Byzantine and Islamic influence in its brilliant mosaics as well as its frescos, which were painted during the Renaissance period. The second church, San Cataldo, a much smaller church, also was founded in the 12th century and there are many examples, both inside and out, of Arabic and Norman influence on its design. It was actually converted into a post office during the 18th century but restored back to its original use and interior design in the 19th century. 
Our next stop was La Fontana Pretoria in the piazza by the same name. The fountain was originally commissioned for Florence but ultimately, the bid went to Palermo in the 16th century. By the 18th century, people associated the fountain and its square, with its numerous nude statues, with the corruption of the government and municipalities of Palermo, and thus nicknamed it the "Square of Shame."
This piazza led us to our next church, La Chiesa del Gesu, The Church of Jesus Christ. The Jesuits landed in Palermo in 1549 and by the early 17th century had erected and dedicated this church. Like La Chiesa di Santa Maria dell'Ammiraglio, the interior is heavily decorated in the Baroque style, as evidence by its ornate beauty including marble carvings, frescos, and stained glass windows. Unfortunately, much of the dome and the surrounding walls were destroyed during an WWII air raid in 1943. The church was eventually restored and rededicated in 2009.Next on our tour was the Palentine Chapel. As you can see, the exterior does not even look chapel-like. That is because the chapel is housed within this municipal building. So to say I was underwhelmed when I first walked through the front door the building would be an understatement. The chapel actually is located on the second floor of the building and looks into a courtyard you cannot see from the street. Once I entered the chapel I was blown away!
Every nook and cranny of this chapel was ornately represented in some way. And like La Chiesa di Santa Maria dell'Ammiraglio, it too had Arab influences throughout. As our guide told us, "the Romanesque style churches tried to tell a story with the art they placed within a church, usually gospel stories depicting the life of Jesus." However, the Arab/Islamic style churches during the Byzantine era was more interested in blowing people away with its often brilliant golden mosaic geometric designs. They weren't as interested in whether or not their decor told a story.
This 12th century chapel was built during the reign of Roger II and dedicated to Saint Peter. In this picture (facing the back of the chapel) we see Jesus sitting on a thrown, as a king would, with Saint Peter on his left and Saint Paul on his right. The detail of the mosaics was unparalleled by any other church of its time. 
However, my favorite part of this chapel was the ceiling. looking straight up, from one end to the other is an intricate set of wooden pieces interlocked together to make this three-dimensional honeycomb-like design. It took years for the ceiling alone to be completed and you can see why. Truly remarkable!
Afterwards, it was time to get a little lunch from all of the site-seeing. Pat insisted that Brad, Richard, and I try what is called a panella sandwich, which consists of a fried chickpea pancake with fried mashed potato balls smooshed on top of the pancakes, all inside of a roll. And if that wasn't enough, Danielle talked me into getting an aranccina, which is a big ball of fried rice, prosciutto and cheese. It was a high caloric, high carbohydrate heart attack lunch! It was all good but nevertheless done...checked off my bucket list!
Now off to our last site of the day, La Zisa! Zisa is a castle that was originally constructed for King William I of Sicily in the mid-12th century but wasn't completed until the reign of William II in the late 12th century. It was a very opulent (Arab-designed) castle as you can imagine, with all of the amenities of the day including an intricate way of circulating air through the castle via pools, fountains, and niches between floors throughout the castle to keep it cool in the summer months.
Here's a photo of what once used to be a large pool with a fountain in the middle (now inhabited by grass and weeds), that contributed to the ancient "air conditioning" system of Zisa.Over the years, this castle became run down and was nearly destroyed in the early 1970s by a lightening storm. It was only then that the government decided to step in and try and salvage it, which they did by reconstructing the castle with new brick and mortar and infusing it with the remains of the original castle from the storm.
Lastly, here is a very ornate tombstone of the mother of a Grisanto priest found on the premesis. Each panel is written in a different languages (Hebrew, Arabic, Greek and Latin), as many of the tombstones back then were. The tombstone dates back to 1148. 
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