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The Castello della Zisa is located outside the walls of the city of Palermo, inside the Norman royal park. La Zisa, built in the 12th century, was conceived during the Norman domination in Sicily. Its foundation is due to the reign of William I, but concluded only under that of William II. The palace was built in the "Arab" manner by workers of Muslim origin, as happened to other royal residences. We were inspired by the models of the royal building of North Africa and Egypt, underlining the strong ties that Sicily continued to have, in that period, with the Islamic cultural world of the Mediterranean basin. The name Zisa probably comes from al-Azîz (which in Arabic means splendid, noble, glorious, magnificent). The word (in nashi characters), found in the epigraphic strip of the vestibule of the building, denotes the characteristic Islamic use of distinguishing the most important civil buildings with a name. Of great interest are the niches decorated with fountains and Muqarnas, ie beehive decorations that characterize the building.

Timetable and tickets

Address

Piazza Zisa
90135 Palermo

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Other museums in Palermo