Context
Palermo: Kalsa and the churches in the historic town centre
Stéphane Mourlane
The Sicilian culture is often shown as encompassing a wide variety of heritages, remains of a history which has seen the island ruled by the Phoenicians, the Greeks, the Romans, the Goths, the Byzantines, the Muslim Arabs, the Normans, the Spanish, the Austrians and of course the Italians. Usually Palermo has been accepted as the island's capital, but not always. Today, looking at the town and its urban heritage is like looking at a cross-section of its multi-ethnic past. The architectural legacy of the Muslim period is not easy to see, although the having conquered the town in 831 the Arabs completely transformed the urban space, as recorded by the geographer Ibn Hawqal at the end of the 10th century. With its 300 mosques (powerful symbols of its Islamification), Palermo was then considered the second city in Europe after Constantinople. In the Middle Ages its fragmented urban tissue was built around 5 districts, including the fortified old town (Balarm) and, facing it, the district of Al-Khalisa (the purist or chosen one) which reflects the new rulers' policy of expanding the town. It was conceived as a residential and administrative district and is a military and administrative citadel with a fortifications, apart from its eastern side which faces the sea. Known since as Kalsa, it maintained its original functions with the construction of many palaces from the 14th to the 18th centuries.
The Normans, as new masters of Sicily, based themselves in Palermo in 1072. The legacy of their rule can be seen more easily in the town's architecture. The Palazzo dei Normanni, Zisa and Cuba are examples of the Arab influence on architecture. But for the most part the policies of Roger II (1095-1154) and then Frederic II (1194-1250) left little place for Arab influence; by the end of Frederic II's reign the Arab population had almost disappeared. As good vassals of the Pope, the Kings of Sicily defended Roman Christianity after the break with the Byzantine Chrurch in 1054. The building of the cathedral on the site of a mosque in 1185 is an unmistakeable expression of that. The towers were added in the 14th and 15th centuries, while work done in the 18th century has given it a neo-classical style. During the time of the Normans, It was the symbol of centralised power: the rulers were crowned and buried there.
Palermo's skyline continued to be dotted with church spires during the modern period, heavily influenced by Spanish domination. With the counter-Reformation came new forms of worship, including the renewal of the cult of Mary: at Palermo 123 churches and 35 oratories are dedicated to her. Santa Maria della Pietà was built in the Kalsa district between 1678 and 1684 by Giacomo Amato whose training in Rome gives the church a Baroque style quite different from Sicilian Baroque. Not far away, in 1686, he also built the church of Santa Teresa alla Kalsa in the same style, completing the eccestiastical aspect of the district with San Nicolo and San Mattia.
During the Spanish period, Palermo experienced an urban renovation aimed at giving it an octagonal plan, like other major European cities. The Quattro Canti introduced a new idea of dividing the town into four quarters. Under the Bourbons, in the 18th century, the aristocracy made their mark with buildings showing off their social standing and influence. The Palazzo Comitini, built between 1768 and 1771 for Michele Gravina y Cruillas, member of a powerful Aragon family who, to give himself more prestige, claimed he was descended from the Goths. Today this Palazzo is the provincial seat of Palermo's council, like the Palazzo Normanni which is the Sicilian Regional Assembly. Like other cultural artifacts (gastronomy for example), Palermo's legacy suits today's society and culture which takes pleasure and sustenance from looking at a multi-heritage past. And that history is a melting pot from which has come a strongly affirmed island identity.
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