Museum of Islamic Culture in Palermo.
Palermo’s Piazza Ciza is home to a castle fortress of the same name. The name is a derivative of the word “shining”.
This building once stood outside the city walls within the royal park of Gioardo, surrounded by ponds, pavilions and buildings, in the shade of trees of the rarest species.
The first mention of the castle of Ciza is found in the annals of Hugo Falcando in 1165. According to them, the active construction of the palace began in the time of William the First Evil. It is noteworthy that almost all researchers consider the date of its completion to be 1175, the time when William the Second Good ruled. In 1526 the castle was visited by the Bolognese monk Leandro Alberti, who described the place of his stay, from which it can be seen that the building lacked radical changes. Its exterior appearance changed as much as possible in the XIV century, when the castle was adorned with crenellations, which were damaged by Arabic writings. The great restoration process began in 1635 – the building was taken over by Giovanni de Sandoval. Another storey was added to the building, which resulted in the upper terrace being closed. A grand staircase was added to the right side of the castle, as was fashionable at the time. In the process, the old original staircase was demolished, the appearance of the load-bearing walls was changed and the interior of the chateau became different. When the last man of the family died in 1808, the palace fell into the hands of the old and famous Sicilian family Notarbartolo. They turned it into their residence. It is known that in 1971 the northern part of the fortress collapsed, but it was quickly rebuilt.
Surprisingly, although the building has been restored to its original features, it is still noticeable that it was rebuilt, because for this purpose the builders deliberately used different materials, which were significantly different from the previous ones. The castle is now home to the Museum of Islamic Art.
Tsiza is a beautiful Arabian-style castle, the true embodiment of an emir’s palace looking out over the vast sea. The trio of large arches is very prominent in the facade, and there is a huge window on the top floor. In the courtyard there is a pond with fishes, the waters of which flow to the Fountain Hall. The inter-storey cornice is visible on the 2nd floor, and the continuous ornamentation created by the false arches of the 3rd floor is conspicuous. The cornice was previously decorated with a Kufic inscription, of which only traces remain. The lower floor has a lobby, many staircases and offices. And in the Fountain Hall you can admire the cross-shaped vault, in which there are three niches. The one facing the main entrance is painted in gold and decorated with mosaics. And among the museum collection a special place is given to the objects of IX-XI century, and at that time, as it is known, Arabs ruled in Sicily, although most of the exhibits date from the next century, when their culture has not lost its relevance. These include furniture, tools, gold and silver items.
Open all days except Monday and Tuesday
