La Magione is a 12th-century

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

Gothic architecture Gothic architecture (or pointed architecture) is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It e ...

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

Basilica church, located on Via Magione #44, the entrance to the facade, which faces southeast, is through a garden path midway between via Castrofilippo (the southern edge of Piazza Maggione) and Via Giuseppe Garibaldi, in the ancient quarter of Kalsa of

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...

, region of Sicily, Italy. The apse of the church is on the southeast corner of Piazza Magione.

History

A church at the site was completed by 1191, perhaps at the site of a former mosque, and is the last church built in the capital of the

Norman Kingdom of Sicily The Kingdom of Sicily ( la, Regnum Siciliae; it, Regno di Sicilia; scn, Regnu di Sicilia) was a state that existed in the south of the Italian Peninsula and for a time the region of Ifriqiya from its founding by Roger II of Sicily in 1130 unt ...

during the period of the Hauteville dynasty. Its foundation is linked to the Chancellor of the Kingdom,

Matthew of Ajello Matthew of Ajello ( it, Matteo d'Aiello) was a high-ranking member of the Norman court of the Kingdom of Sicily in the 12th century. His brother John was a bishop. Career He first appears as the notary of the Admiral Maio of Bari who drew up th ...

, who initially assigned the church and an adjacent monastery to the

Cistercian order The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint B ...

. However when Palermo fell by the 1190s under the rule of the

Hohenstaufen The Hohenstaufen dynasty (, , ), also known as the Staufer, was a noble family of unclear origin that rose to rule the Duchy of Swabia from 1079, and to royal rule in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages from 1138 until 1254. The dynasty ...

Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI (German: ''Heinrich VI.''; November 1165 – 28 September 1197), a member of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, was King of Germany ( King of the Romans) from 1169 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1191 until his death. From 1194 he was also King of S ...

, the Cistercian monks, who had favored Henry's rival Tancred, were expelled, and the property granted in 1197 to the

Teutonic Order The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians on ...

. Both

Tancred Tancred or Tankred is a masculine given name of Germanic origin that comes from ''thank-'' (thought) and ''-rath'' (counsel), meaning "well-thought advice". It was used in the High Middle Ages mainly by the Normans (see French Tancrède) and espe ...

and his son, prince

Roger III of Sicily Roger III ( it, Ruggero III, scn, Ruggeru III; 1175 – 24 December 1193), of the House of Hauteville, was the eldest son and heir of King Tancred of Sicily and Queen Sibylla of Acerra, Sibylla. He was made Duke of Apulia (as Roger V), probably in ...

, were buried in this church in 1193-1194. Palermo-Magione-bjs-2

The Teutonic Knights served as protectors of the young King Frederick II for over a decade during his minority. The knights built dormitories, an armory and stables. The name ''Magione'' is thought to derive from a word derived from the Latin term ''Mansio'', often referring to the house of a lord (mansion), and to the residences of the Teutonic knights. In 1492, at the request of

Pope Innocent VIII Pope Innocent VIII ( la, Innocentius VIII; it, Innocenzo VIII; 1432 – 25 July 1492), born Giovanni Battista Cybo (or Cibo), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 August 1484 to his death in July 1492. Son of th ...

, King

Ferdinand II of Aragon Ferdinand II ( an, Ferrando; ca, Ferran; eu, Errando; it, Ferdinando; la, Ferdinandus; es, Fernando; 10 March 1452 – 23 January 1516), also called Ferdinand the Catholic (Spanish: ''el Católico''), was King of Aragon and Sardinia from ...

, removed the Teutonic Order from Sicily. The complex became a residence for priests and abbots under the administration of the archbishop of Palermo. In 1780 it passed unto direct control of the

Bourbon of Naples The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a European dynasty of French origin, a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Navarre in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Spanish ...

and in 1787 it was given to the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George. They were expelled in the 1860s during the suppression of religious orders by the Kingdome of Italy. In 19th century an important restoration was realized by

Giuseppe Patricolo Giuseppe Patricolo (1834 – 1905) was an Italian architect and engineer, best known for restoring many of the medieval, including Norman architecture, buildings in and near his native Palermo in Sicily. In 1866, he was named professor of descri ...

, stripping away some of the additions to the Norman church. A description from 1875 describes the building as ''sadly disfigured''.Italy: Handbook for Travellers. southern Italy, Sicily, and excursions
by Karl Baedeker (Firm), 1875, page 231. The church suffered gravely from the bombing of the second world war and much was rebuilt in the restoration. The church has the title of

Minor basilica In the Catholic Church, a basilica is a designation given by the Pope to a church building. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectural sense (a rectangular ...

Description

The access to the church complex is through a baroque gateway, first installed in the 18th-century with two flanking protruding columns upon which stand the allegorical representations of Faith and Charity. In the center, above the portal is the coat of arms of the Constantinian Order. This leads to a garden path with cycads and bougainvillea. The present façade is the result of many alterations; those from the late 19th and early 20th-century stripped the baroque portal to the church, and the neoclassical portico that had been added previously. What remains is a brick façade accentuated by a number of ogival arches, including the portal and some flanking windows. The church interior has a Latin cross layout with a central nave, lined by Corinthian grey marble columns separating this from the flanking aisles, and ending in three semicircular apses. The central nave is tall.

Gallery

File:Magione-apse.jpg, Apse File:La Magione (Palermo) Kircheninneres-2011-08-03.jpg, Interior. Central nave File:Chiesa Cancelliere 06.JPG, Tabernacle File:La Magione, Kreuzgang, Südostseite - Reste der Bemalung.jpg, Fresco of Madonna delle Grazie File:Magione-cloister.jpg, Cloister File:La Maggiuni.jpg, Portal of the complex

References

External links

History of the church on ''bestofsicily.com''
{{Authority control

Magione Magione () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Perugia in the Italian region Umbria, located about 15 km west of Perugia. Magione borders the following municipalities: Castiglione del Lago, Corciano, Panicale, Passignano sul T ...

Arab-Norman architecture in Palermo Churches with Norman architecture Buildings and structures of the Teutonic Order

Minor basilicas in Sicily