Name of Monument:

Remains of the Great Mosque in Palermo inside the Chapel of the Incoronata

Location:

Palermo, Italy

Date of Monument:

Hegira 3rd century / AD 9th century

Period / Dynasty:

Aghlabid

Description:

Inside the chapel located behind the cathedral, there are some remains of column and pillar bases embedded in the walls of the chapel, in particular in the area of the pronaos and the apse, dating from the Aghlabid era (AH 3rd / AD 9th century). They must have supported the ceiling of a long columned room (18 m long and 3.8 m wide) that was probably part of the great mosque that was discovered during alteration works on the old Byzantine church.

View Short Description

The remains of bases of columns and pillars embedded in the structure of the chapel have been dated to the time of Islamic rule, and may have been used to support the roof of a room that was probably part of the great mosque of the city.

How Monument was dated:

From structural analysis of the masonry.

Selected bibliography:

Bellafiore, G., Architettura in Sicilia nell’età Islamica e Normanna (827–1190), Palermo, 1990.
Di Stefano, G., Monumenti della Sicilia Normanna, Palermo, 1955.
Siculo-Norman Art: Islamic Culture in Medieval Sicily, p.100.

Citation of this web page:

Pier Paolo Racioppi "Remains of the Great Mosque in Palermo inside the Chapel of the Incoronata" in Discover Islamic Art, Museum With No Frontiers, 2024. 2024. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;ISL;it;Mon01;5;en

Prepared by: Pier Paolo Racioppi
Translation by: Laurence Nunny
Translation copyedited by: Monica Allen


MWNF Working Number: IT 05