Multicultural Exchange in the Norman Palaces of Twelfth
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A Changing Mosaic: Multicultural Exchange in the Norman Palaces of Twelfth-Century Sicily by Dana Katz A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Department of Art University of Toronto © Copyright by Dana Katz 2016 A Changing Mosaic: Multicultural Exchange in the Norman Palaces of Twelfth-Century Sicily by Dana Katz Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Department of Art University of Toronto 2016 Abstract This dissertation examines the twelfth-century residences associated with the Norman Hautevilles in the parklands that surrounded their capital at Palermo. One of the best-preserved ensembles of medieval secular architecture, the principal monuments are the palaces of La Zisa and La Cuba, the complexes of La Favara and Lo Scibene, the hunting lodge at Parco, and the palace at Monreale. The Norman conquest of Sicily in the previous century dramatically altered the local population’s religious and cultural identity. Nevertheless, an Islamic legacy persisted in the park architecture, arranged on axial plans with waterworks and ornamented with muqarnas vaults. By this time, the last Norman king, William II, and his court became aligned with contemporaries in the Latin West, and Muslims became marginalized in Sicily. Part One examines the modern “discovery” and reception of the twelfth-century palaces. As secular examples built in an Islamic mode, they did not fit preconceived paradigms of medieval Western architecture in the scholarly literature, greatly endangering their preservation. My examination reconstructs the vast landscape created by the Norman kings, who modified their surroundings on a monumental scale. Water in the parklands was harnessed to provide for ii artificial lakes and other waterscapes onto which the built environment was sited. Part Two presents in-depth studies of lesser known sites associated with Roger II, including the likely pre- Norman Lo Scibene, perhaps a prototype for the later La Zisa built by his successors. In the second half of the century, monumental epigraphy in Arabic crowned the pavilions of the Genoard Park. These texts were significant visual constructs, delimiting a newly formed space of power, whose content referenced paradise at these palaces that were also sites of song. The last royal residence at William II’s fortified monastic complex of Monreale was built as a miniaturized version of the Benedictine cenobium. Largely self-sufficient, the construction of Monreale, where the secular and ecclesiastical spheres were joined together, also denotes deteriorating Christian-Muslim relations. The dissertation participates in an emerging discourse on the medieval Mediterranean through an examination of royal parkland architecture that undermines prevailing notions of Norman Sicily as a syncretic kingdom throughout the entire century. iii Acknowledgments I owe great thanks to my supervisor, Prof. Jill Caskey, who provided tireless support throughout this long period and whose thoughtful comments and revisions helped clarify many ideas, pushing my work forward tremendously. In Toronto, I am indebted to Prof. Linda Safran, who served on my committee and carefully read several drafts. I am also grateful to my committee member, Prof. Suzanne Conklin Akbari, and to Prof. Adam S. Cohen, for their helpful comments and suggestions. My external reader, Prof. Renata Holod, advanced my thinking and work in new directions. The University of Toronto has been very generous with funds: The School of Graduate Studies provided a Research Travel Grant to Sicily, a language study grant, and, most significantly, a Doctoral Completion Award, which propelled the latter part of my stay in Palermo. The Department of Visual Studies at the University of Toronto Mississauga provided Graduate Expansion Funds at vital junctures. Finally, the Department of the History of Art extended my graduate fellowship a year beyond its initial duration and again in my final year. A Samuel H. Kress Foundation Travel Grant provided for early research in Palermo’s archives and enabled me to consult the Archivio Centrale dello Stato in EUR, Rome. A Fulbright Full Grant was crucial for conducting further research and establishing residency in Palermo. My thanks to Prof. Marco Rosario Nobile at the Facoltà di Architettura of the Università degli Studi, who sponsored my Fulbright application, and to Prof. Franco Tomaselli, also at the Facoltà, who wrote a letter of recommendation on my behalf to the Soprintendenza. I wish to thank the staff of the Biblioteca centrale della Regione siciliana “Alberto Bombace,” and the Biblioteca Comunale at Casa Professa for promptly providing reproductions of works in their collections; Antonino Palazzolo who pointed me toward primary source material on La Cuba Sottana at the Archivio di Stato; and Arch. Salvatore Greco, who coordinated my consultation of the Archivio of the Soprintendenza BB. CC. AA. in Palermo. Many thanks to Domenico Ortolano, president of the Associazione culturale Castello di Maredolce, for inviting me to events—most memorably, the reconsecration of the Norman iv chapel by Archbishop Paolo Romeo in June 2014. I am grateful to Arch. Gaetano Corselli d’Ondes, Arch. Clara Spallino, and Arch. Paolo Spallino, for enabling me to see the Church of S. Maria dell’Ammiraglio during its restoration. In addition, I greatly appreciate the kindness of the Tramontana family in Palermo and the friendship of Felicità, who extended to me an invitation to visit the castle of Caronia on behalf of Sig.ra Gina Castro Rocché. Also, Avv. Giulio Tramontana graciously organized and accompanied me on a visit to the Palazzo dei Normanni. At the Galleria Regionale della Sicilia at Palazzo Abatellis, Dott.ssa Evelina De Castro and Salvatore Pagano provided much needed access to the Gabinetto dei Disegni e Stampe and have been very helpful and welcoming. At the Museo Archeologico Regionale “Antonino Salinas,” Dott.ssa Francesca Spatafora granted authorization to consult the museum’s Archivio Storico. At the museum, I am grateful for the assistance and disponibilità of Dott.ssa Alessandra Ruvituso and Dott.ssa Elena Pezzini. I owe a great deal of thanks to Arch. Antonio Pampalone, who assisted in the early phases of the project in Palermo and accompanied me on various site visits and surveys. Numerous friends and colleagues provided support along the way during my lengthy stay at Via Terra delle Mosche(e) in my beloved Vucciria: Salvo Avara, Iris Domany, Jack Goodman, Salvo Parrucca, Victoria Menashy, Carola Presti, Degla Salim, Kristen Streahle, and Maria Carolina Valguarnera. At the tail end of my dissertation, a trip to Sicily provided new ideas for future research and consolidated my knowledge of more familiar sites through many fruitful conversations with professors and students from the Department of Art at U of T and the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts (GAFA). I wish to thank Profs. Jill Caskey, Linda Safran, and Adam S. Cohen, for supporting my participation in the Getty Foundation’s “Connecting Art Histories” funded seminar, “Multicultural Arts of Medieval Sicily,” part of the joint U of T/GAFA “Global and Postglobal Perspectives on Medieval Art and Art History” program. A special thanks to Amy Singer in Tel Aviv for her support. I dedicate the dissertation to my parents, David S. Katz and Sarah Kochav. Without their loving encouragement and unwavering belief in me I could not have completed this work. v Table of Contents Abstract............................................................................................................................................ii Acknowledgements.........................................................................................................................iv Table of Contents............................................................................................................................vi List of Abbreviations…………………………………………………..…………..….……......... x List of Plate and Figures.................................................................................................................xi List of Appendices....................................................................................................................xxxiii Introduction to the Dissertation: Introduction………………………………………………………………………………….….…1 I. Historical Background of the Hauteville Conquest of Sicily……………….…….............3 II. Structure of the Dissertation..............................................................................................11 III. Methodology and Primary Source Material..................…………………….……..……..13 IV. Medieval and Early Modern Primary Sources on the Norman Palaces and Parks in Palermo’s Hinterland ….…………………………………..………............17 V. Nineteenth-Century Sicilian Scholars and Restorers……..………………...……............22 VI. Modern Secondary Literature on the Medieval Suburban Palaces and Parks of Palermo………………………………………………………….................25 PART ONE Chapter One: The Early Literature on the Palatial Architecture of Norman Sicily in Northern Europe Introduction……………………………………………………………………………….……...31 I. The “Discovery” of Medieval Sicily on the Grand Tour……………………….…..........33 II. Travelogues and Architectural Handbooks: La Zisa Makes the Grade….……………....39 III. From Paris to Palermo: Viollet-le-Duc, La Zisa, and The Habitations of Man in All Ages (Histoire de l’habitation humaine)….………………..…….……..........50 IV. The Forgotten Orientalist: Viollet-le-Duc, Exoticism, and the Ethnographic Gaze………………………………………………………………………….…....….….59