Two of Palermo's most interesting churches are the Church of Santa Maria dell'Ammiraglio (known as La Martorana) - which is on the left in my pic - and the Church of San Cataldo - which is on the right. (Note the three strange red 'golf balls' on San Cataldo's roof.) In both churches you can see a mixture of Greek (Byzantine), Norman and Arabic influences. They overlook Piazza Bellini - a square named after the composer Vincenzo Bellini (1801-1835), Sicily's most famous musical son (not to be confused with the Bellinis of Venice, who were all painters.) You find references to Bellini all over Sicily. There's even a pasta dish - Pasta Norma - named after his most well-known opera.
In La Martorana the blue and gold mosaics decorating arch and ceiling are simply breathtaking...
As is the more austere but equally beautiful interior of San Cataldo...
Palermo's cathedral is a bizarre hybrid of the medieval and the Baroque - I'm not sure that central Baroque cupola harmonizes very well with those Gothic bell towers...
However its 15th century south portico is a masterpiece...
The church of Santa Caterina stands opposite La Martorana and San Cataldo on the other side of Piazza Bellini. Its extravagant, over-ornate, wedding-cake style did not do a lot for me, I must admit...
Though, as ever, if you looked carefully, there were some fascinating cameos of great charm and craftsmanship among the Baroque excesses, such as this relief marble panel depicting the story of Jonah and the whale...
