Church of Santa Maria Dell'Ammiraglio. Martorana. Palermo. Italy

The audio guide tells the story, describes the architecture and reports interesting facts about the church.

In 1072, Norman Dukes conquered Palermo and, in Sicily, began an era in which the Byzantine culture, the knowledge of the Arabs and the expressiveness of the Normans fused, creating an extraordinary unity. The symbol of this synthesis is the church of Santa Maria dell'Amiraglio, better known as "la Martorana". It was made according to the will of the Syrian Admiral of King Ruggero II, George of Antioch. The word "admiral", the name given to the church, refers to the profession of its founder.

In 1221, the church was patronized by the pope, who guaranteed the church's right of Greek worship.
In 1282, during the Sicilian vespers' war, it was in the church building, which became the seat of the Pretoria Court in Palermo, where the Sicilian Parliament offered the crown to King Peter of Aragon.
While in 1443 King Alfonso of Aragon assigned the church to the nearby Benedictine monastery, it assumed its second name, "Martorana". Of great value are the mosaics of religious, historical and political significance.

The audioguide has been made by professionals in the field of history and art.