Flight to Palermo

The two most beautiful of these churches are right in the center of town, the "Quattro Canti" and just off the main street, Via Maqueda. They are on a terrace above Piazza Bellini: one, "la Martorana", often used for smart or pseudo-smart weddings is usually open; the other, San Cataldo, with the usual rose domes, usually closed. It suffered less from additions and restoration than its companion and gives a perfect example of its type. Like the cubes, it has rounded blind arches and Arab fretwork in the stone round the cornice. The other two are further afield, both dedicated to St. John: the first "of the Lepers", was built by Roger I in 1070; the second "of the Hermits, set in a delightful garden complete with ruined cloister.

A short walk from St. John's is what was once the center of Norman Palermo, Palazzo dei Normanni. Despite its name, the seat of the regional government has very little Norman to it, but the one piece it does have is worth the whole trip. The Palatine Chapel is a fabulous combination of oriental workmanship and occidental iconography.