The Cuba () is a recreational

palace A palace is a large residence, often serving as a royal residence or the home for a head of state or another high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome whi ...

in the

Sicilia Sicily (Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy. With 4.7 million inhabitants, including 1. ...

n city of

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , 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 province. The ...

, originally part of the Sollazzi Regi group of

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 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...

palaces. It was built in 1180 by

William II of Sicily William II (December 115311 November 1189), called the Good, was king of Sicily from 1166 to 1189. From surviving sources William's character is indistinct. Lacking in military enterprise, secluded and pleasure-loving, he seldom emerged from hi ...

in his Royal Park, together with an

artificial lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from t ...

. The name ''Cuba'' derives either from its cubical form, or the Arabic ''Qubba'', "dome". It is an imitation of the Zisa palace. It is also called "Cuba sottotana" to distinguish it from the Cubula, or Little Cuba, a small pavilion built by William II for the Genoardo park. The Cuba shows strong Fatimid art influences, as it was (at least partially) designed by Arab artists still living in Palermo after the

Norman conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...

History

The

Hauteville family The Hauteville family (, ) was a Normans, Norman family, originally of petty lords, from the Cotentin, Cotentin Peninsula in Normandy. The Hautevilles rose to prominence through their part in the Norman conquest of southern Italy. In 1130, Roger ...

conquered Sicily in 1070 with the capture of Palermo by

Robert Guiscard Robert Guiscard ( , ; – 17 July 1085), also referred to as Robert de Hauteville, was a Normans, Norman adventurer remembered for his Norman conquest of southern Italy, conquest of southern Italy and Sicily in the 11th century. Robert was born ...

. The Cuba was built in 1180 for King William II, in the center of a large park called ''Jannat al-ard'' ("Paradise on earth"), or Genoardo. The Genoardo also included the Cuba soprana and the Cubula, and formed part of the Sollazzi Regi, a circuit of Norman court palaces located around Palermo. The original use of the Cuba was recreational; the man-made pool served as a natural air-cooling system, for resting during the hottest hours or attending parties and ceremonies in the evening. The Cuba now appears oddly tall, since in the past, it was surrounded by an artificial lake almost eight feet deep. The largest opening, on the northern front, overlooked the water. In the following centuries, Cuba would see various uses. The lake was drained and pavilions were built on the banks, and it was used as a lazaretto during the plague of 1576 to 1621. During the rule of Bourbon kings of Naples it was annexed to a barracks. The Cuba finally became state property in 1921.

Structure

Constructed in limestone brick, the building has a rectangular shape, 31.15 meters long and 16.80 wide. Four tower-shaped facades protrude from the center of each side. The most protruding facade was the only access to the building from the mainland. The external walls are decorated with

ogival An ogive ( ) is the roundly tapered end of a two- or three-dimensional object. Ogive curves and surfaces are used in engineering, architecture, woodworking, and ballistics. Etymology The French Orientalist Georges Séraphin Colin gives as ...

arches, and the cornice is inscribed with bands of Arabic calligraphy. A large dome surmounts the central area of the palace. The thick walls and the few windows were due to climatic needs, offering greater resistance to the heat of the sun. Furthermore, the largest cluster of open windows was on the north-eastern side, to better receive the fresh winds from the sea, further humidified by the waters of the surrounding artificial lake. The interior of the Cuba was divided into three aligned and connected rooms, with no private rooms. At the center are the remains of a marble fountain, a typical element of Arab buildings used to refresh the air. This fountain would have been connected to the outside pool through a subterranean passageway. The central hall was embellished with

muqarnas Muqarnas (), also known in Iberian architecture as Mocárabe (from ), is a form of three-dimensional decoration in Islamic architecture in which rows or tiers of niche-like elements are projected over others below. It is an archetypal form of I ...

, an architectural and ornamental solution similar to a half dome.

In fiction

The Cuba's fame was such that

Giovanni Boccaccio Giovanni Boccaccio ( , ; ; 16 June 1313 – 21 December 1375) was an Italian people, Italian writer, poet, correspondent of Petrarch, and an important Renaissance humanism, Renaissance humanist. Born in the town of Certaldo, he became so ...

set one of the tales of the ''

Decameron ''The Decameron'' (; or ''Decamerone'' ), subtitled ''Prince Galehaut'' (Old ) and sometimes nicknamed ''l'Umana commedia'' ("the Human comedy", as it was Boccaccio that dubbed Dante Alighieri's ''Comedy'' "''Divine''"), is a collection of ...

'' (1353) there — tale V, 6, a love story between Gian di Procida and Restituta.

Bibliography

Michele Amari Michele Benedetto Gaetano Amari (7 July 1806 in Palermo – 16 July 1889 in Florence) was a Sicilian patriot, liberal revolutionary and politician of aristocratic background, historian and orientalist. He rose to prominence as a champion of ...

, ''Storia dei musulmani di Sicilia'', Catania, R. Prampolini,. 1933-9, 3 vols in 5 volumes. * A. Aziz, ''A History of Islamic Sicily'', Edinburgh, 1975. ** F. Gabrieli - U. Scerrato, ''Gli Arabi in Italia'', Milano, Scheiwiller, 1979. *** A. De Simone, "Palermo nei geografi e viaggiatori arabi del Medioevo", in: ''Studi Magrebini'', II (1968), pp. 129–189. **** G. Caronia - V. Noto, ''La Cuba di Palermo, Arabi e Normanni nel XII secolo'', Palermo 1989. * V. Noto, ''Les palais et les jardins siciliens des rois normands'' , in: Trésors romans d'Italie du Sud et de Sicile, (1995), pp. 97–108

References

{{Authority control Castles in Palermo Palaces in Palermo Arab-Norman architecture in Palermo Royal residences in the Kingdom of Sicily Romanesque palaces Norman architecture in Italy Leper colonies

History

Structure

In fiction

Bibliography

See also

References