Città di Naro

Nearby there is the second stop of our itinerary: the Old Norman Cathedral. The construction of the cathedral was promoted by Ruggiero d’Altavilla in 1089 and it is believed to have been built on the ruins of a pre-exixtant mosque.

In 1174 Walter Offamill ranked the Cathedral to the position of Mother Church (the most important church of the area) and he donated it’s portal. In 1266 the celebration of the consacration of the Cathedral took place in presence of the apostolic legate of Pope Clemente IV and in 1398, by will of Martin the Younger , the church was promoted Cathedral. In that same year, the latter beautified even more the Cathedral with the construction of a cappella, called Cappella Maggiore, which was restored subsequently in 1565 by Bernaardo Lucchesi Palli.

The Cathedral is preceded by 209 steps that go from Via Dante to it’s portal. The Cathedral’s stairway was built in the 1700’s and it rappresents the medieval concept of life considered as a hard pilgrimage in order to reach the salvation of the soul.

In 1771 the cathedral underwent a restoration that witnessed the introduction of typical baroque elements.

Due to it’s abbandoned state and it’s gradual decline the Cathedral was closed down to the cult in 1867 since being considered a site of possible catastrophe.

After different restorations, today one can admire the Cathedral’s spacious façade characterized by a blind rose-window (circular window) and by it’s portal ornated with zig zag decorations, typical details of the past sicilian gothic epoc.

The church witnessed it’s typical late gothic semplicity being replaced with the baroque style in 1725, but thanks to the attention of earl Alfonzo Gaetani in 1937 and subsequently in 1959 thanks to the Superinterndency of Monuments, it’s pure gothic features were brought back to light.

The church was constructed with yellow sand stone; the inside is characterized by a square plan which develops into a nave and two aisles delimited by 14 pilars which form ogival arches, all covered by a wooden cross vault ceiling. The aisles contain what remains of some illegible frescos, attributed to Cecco from Naro (who painted the Steri Mansion, home of the Chiaramonte’s in Palermo, with Simone from Corleone and with Darenu of Palermo). On the right hand side of the church there is a fresco of the XV century which rappresents the Transit and the Assumption of the Virgin, that come from the old Norman Cathedral.

This little church is of great interest, not only for the many works of art that it conserves but also for it’s marble baptismal font done by an anonimous artist, datable around XV century. The baptismal font is ornated with the coat of arms of the Aragona dynasty, two slaves, the wheel of Saint Catherine and the coat of arms of the city of Naro. The superior part is decorated of winged cherubs from which unbinds a decoration of leaves.