Palantine Chapel of Palazzo Reale Palermo

Beautiful chapel in the Royal Palace of Palermo, Sicily. The palace dates back to the 9th century when it was a Norman Donjon (keep or dungeon). The chapel dates to King Roger and his Angevin successors, who created a new style of architecture, Arabo-Norman, taking elements from Arab architecture (compare the honeycomb roof elements and arches to those in former mosques of Cordoba and Granada like the Mesquite in Cordoba) and dark age Western Europe (basilica style floor plan with niches for religious art and reliquaries, gold coloration to wall and ceiling decor like in St Marks Venice to mimic Byzantine art).