Name of Monument:

Cuba

Location:

Palermo, Sicily, Italy

Date of Monument:

Between circa 1171 and 1180

Period / Dynasty:

Norman

Patron(s):

King Guglielmo (William) II.

History:

Commissioned by Guglielmo II, the building was completed in 1180, as recorded in the inscription in kufic script that decorates the top-floor cornice of the building and celebrates its patron. Like the Zisa Palace, it was built in a large Norman hunting ground and was used only for short stays. It served as a solatium, or place of pleasure, surrounded by lush vegetation, streams and ponds.

Description:

The Cuba Palace is a parallelepiped shape with four projections from the centre of each side. The external walls bear pointed-arch lintels framing blind windows.
As it was surrounded by a fishpond, the building was accessed via a small bridge on its south side.
Today the building is an empty shell, but the inside used to consist of a vast central square space, a sort of open-air hall, with a covered walkway and four corner columns (similar to the hall in the upper floor of the Zisa), with two fountains in niches on the north and south sides and a central impluvium with a mosaic floor. A large arch stands on the west side.

This palace was commissioned by Guglielmo (William) II and completed in 1180, as recorded in the inscription in kufic characters that decorates the top-floor cornice of the building, which also celebrates its patron. Like the Zisa Palace, it stood in the middle of the large Norman hunting ground and was only inhabited for brief stays. It was used for recreation (solatium) and was set against a lush verdant backdrop complete with streams and ponds.

How Monument was dated:

From historical sources; from the inscription referring to the patron.

Selected bibliography:

Bellafiore, S., La Cuba di Palermo, Palermo, 1984.
Rudolph Meier, H., “I Palazzi Residenziali di Palermo”, in I Normanni, Popolo d’Europa 1030–1200, (ed. M. D’Onofrio), Roma, 1994, pp.221–7.
Siculo-Norman Art: Islamic Culture in Medieval Sicily, pp.78–80.

Citation of this web page:

Pier Paolo Racioppi "Cuba" in Discover Islamic Art, Museum With No Frontiers, 2024. 2024. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;ISL;it;Mon01;2;en

Prepared by: Pier Paolo RacioppiPier Paolo Racioppi

Laureato e specializzato in storia dell'arte presso l'Università di Roma “La Sapienza” sta conseguendo il dottorato di ricerca in Storia e conservazione dell'oggetto d'arte e d'architettura presso l'Università di Roma TRE. Ha svolto attività seminariali presso l'Istituto di Storia dell'Arte all'Università La Sapienza di Roma e attualmente è docente di storia dell'arte del Rinascimento presso la IES at Luiss (Roma).
Ha pubblicato diversi contributi sulla tutela artistica, il collezionismo e le accademie d'arte, ed ha collaborato al Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani dell'Enciclopedia Treccani.
Translation by: Laurence Nunny
Translation copyedited by: Monica Allen

MWNF Working Number: IT 02