CHURCH OF SAN CATALDO, Church Of San Cataldo

Hi, my name’s Scott, and I’m your personal guide. Along with MyWoWo, I’d like to welcome you to one of the Wonders of the World: the Church of San Cataldo, a masterpiece of austere Norman style.

The little Church of San Cataldo looks onto Piazza Bellini, which during the Norman period was the center of civic life in Palermo; at the time, it was known as Piano di San Cataldo or Piano della Corte.

The church was probably built around 1154 by the Great Admiral of Sicily Maio of Bari, the successor of George of Antioch, the most powerful figure in the kingdom after William I.

Maio was originally from Apuglia, and the church is a small triple-nave basilica typical of those built in his home region, and very different from the nearby Martorana, with a Greek-cross plan. In 1182, William II gave the church over to the Benedictine monks of the Abbey of Monreale, to whom it belonged until 1787, when the annexes were unfortunately turned into post offices....