Five red domes above a citrus garden and a 13th-century cloister: the most photographed image of Norman Palermo.
Distance
Area
Albergheria
Visit
40 min
Entry
Ticketed
The story
Founded in 1136 by Roger II for Benedictine monks on an earlier Islamic building. The plan is cubic and austere, crowned by five hemispherical domes of clearly North African derivation. Beside it survives a small 13th-century cloister with paired colonnettes, one of the most intimate spaces in the city. The garden of palms, citrus and jasmine is part of the visit.