San Giovanni degli Eremiti (St. John of the Hermits), Palermo, Sicily, Italy

San Giovanni degli Eremiti. Photo: Chris/Wikimedia Commons

San Giovanni degli Eremiti (St. John of the Hermits) is a church in Palermo, Sicily, near the Palazzo dei Normanni. The church's origins date to the 6th century. Later, after the Islamic conquest of Sicily, it was converted into a mosque. After the establishment of the Norman domination of southern Italy, it was returned to the Christians by Roger II of Sicily who, around 1136, entrusted it to the Benedictine monks of Saint William of Vercelli.

San Giovanni degli Eremiti - interior. Photo: Stendhal55/Wikimedia Commons

The church was extensively modified during the following centuries. A restoration held around 1880 attempted to restore its original medieval appearance.

The church is notable for its brilliant red domes, which show clearly the persistence of Arab influences in Sicily at the time of its reconstruction in the 12th century, the Arab-Norman culture. However, the red colour of the domes are not original, as they were restored in the present way at the end of the nineteenth century by an architect who found pieces of red plaster on the domes and therefore decided to paint all the domes in red.

The church lies with a flank on a square construction, which was probably a former mosque. The church is on the Latin Cross plan with a nave and two aisles and three apses. Each of the square spans is surmounted by a dome. The presbytery, ending with a niche, has also a dome.

Cloister of San Giovanni degli Eremiti. Photo: Matthias Süßen/Wikimedia Commons

The cloister, enriched by a luxurious garden, is the best preserved part of the ancient monastery. It has notable small double columns with capitals decorated by vegetable motifs, which support ogival arches. It also includes an Arab cistern.

Via dei Bernadetti. Mo-Sa 9AM-7PM. Admission €6.

Source

• www.wikipedia.org

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