Search results for " muqarnas"
showing 3 items of 3 documents
Stereotomy of the Late-Medieval Mediterranean. Crossroads of Experimental Design
2015
This paper analyses some specific case studies of vault and spiral staircase construction built in Sicily in the 12th and 13th centuries during Norman and Swabian rule, as a site of experimenta-tion in the field of stereotomy. The list of such examples still extant (in Palermo some details of the cathedral, the muqarnas in the Zisa Palace and its palatine chapel – the first stone muqarnas in the Mediterranean -, in Syracuse and Catania the castles built during the reign of Frederick II, etc) must be considered in conjunction with similar constructions, now lost or ruined, especially by earthquakes (eg. the intriguing Hall of Syracuse and Mongialino Castle). Among these exam-ples are buildin…
The muqarnas ceiling of the Palatina Chapel in Palermo
2018
St. Peter’s Basilica inside the Royal Palace of Palermo, known as the Palatina Chapel, is one of the most popular medieval monuments in Sicily. Built between 1130 and 1163, it contains interesting wooden framings that represent both bearing and finishing structures. Studies about the Arab-Norman church have often concentrated on the very rich and suggestive decorative mosaic apparatus of walls and floorings, as well as the pictorial cycle of wooden ceilings. Knowledge about the constructive techniques adopted and, in particular, about the realization of the coverings, is very limited: there are wooden floors built at different levels, vaults and wooden ceilings and among these is the portio…
Le strutture lignee della Cappella Palatina di Palermo. Conoscenza e conservazione
2009
La Basilica di S. Pietro nel Palazzo Reale di Palermo, meglio nota come Cappella Palatina, è tra i monumenti medioevali della Sicilia maggiormente conosciuti e visitati. Edificata tra il 1130 ed il 1163, oltre alla ricca e suggestiva decorazione musiva può vantare un soffitto ligneo a muqarnas – definito da Ugo Monneret de Villard una stupefacente meraviglia di carpenteria islamica, per la complessità volumetrico-spaziale e per la ricchezza delle pitture – che rappresenta un unicum nel suo genere, sintetizzando la profonda simbiosi tra le diverse culture (araba e normanna) che a quel tempo coesistevano nella città. La continua attenzione al monumento ha fatto sì che nei secoli limitati sian…