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About

Silvana Braida

architect/planner

Matteo Scognamiglio

 Palermo

place

Roger II, King of Sicily 

patron

 Emir Jafar ibn Yusuf II (Sicily) 

area restoration

Italy

Maredolce Castle, also called Palazzo della Favara, was originally built during Kalbid rule of Sicily by the Emir Ja’far II sometime between 998 and 1019. It was substantially renovated and expanded under the rule of the Norman King Roger II. The site was remarkable due to its innovative water features and gardens.

Import

gardens

water features

lakes

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digital photograph

IMG50274

Castello di Maredolce

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IMG50275

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IMG50276

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IMG50277

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IMG50278

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IMG50279

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IMG50280

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IMG50281

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IMG50282

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IMG50283

Maredolce Castle

Translated

Palazzo della Favara

Alternate

Fawwarah Palace

Castello della Favara

Alternate transliteration

Alternates: Emirate of Sicily, Kalbita Emirate, Fāṭimid-Kalbid A semi-independent dynasty that ruled Sicily from 948 when Hassan al-Kalbi was appointed governor by the Fatamid caliph, <a href="https://www.archnet.org/authorities/2752" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ismail al Mansur</a> to 1053 when the emirate fractured under pressure from the Normans.

Kalbid

See <a href="https://www.archnet.org/collections/2358" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Timeline: Fatimid</a> ﻿&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;By the late ninth century, the hegemony of the Abbasid Caliphate had weakened. Regional governors in Egypt and Iran exercised near-total control of their territories, paying lip-service to the caliph through the mention of his name in the Friday sermon (khutba) and in coinage and tiraz textiles produced at official manufactories. Some Islamic dynasties, such as the Umayyads of Spain, operated entirely outside the caliphate, while local leaders in parts of Syria and Arabia espoused Shiism. In 267 H/909 a new Shia leader, "Abd Allah al-Mahdi, conquered Tunisia and founded a new capital at Mahdiyya. He followed the Ismaili doctrine of Shiism which claimed a new era of history would be heralded by the arrival of the Mahdi (the messiah), who would be descended from "Ali and Fatima through Isma"il ibn Ja"far al-Sadiq. "Abd Allah and his successors, the Fatimids, set themselves up as rivals to the Abbasids and within seven years of Imam alMahdi’s conquest of Tunisia they had established a governor in Sicily. In 969 an exceptional general, Jawhar, occupied Egypt, and in 973 the fourth Fatimid Imam-caliph, al-Mu"izz, relocated the Fatimid capital to Cairo (al-Qahira, the Victorious), the new town he built on the Nile next to the pre-existing city of al-Fustat. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Although the Fatimids maintained their capital at Cairo, they taught their vision of Islam by proselytising through a broad regional organisation, the da"wa. At the height of their power in the late tenth century the Fatimids controlled Mecca and Madina, Yemen and parts of Palestine and Syria. Supported by an army of North African, Turkish and Sudanese soldiers, the Fatimids eventually suffered from internal dissensions that took both ideological and political forms. Exacerbating the power struggles within the military, drought led to economic woes in the 1060’s and the inability of the Fatimid caliph to pay his army. In 1067, during the reign of al-Mustansir, the soldiers ransacked the Fatimid treasury. While this was a disaster for the Fatimid ruler, it has proved to be a boon for historians of Fatimid art because of the descriptions by the historians, Ibn al-Zubayr and Makrizi, of the objects dispersed from the treasury. While the Fatimid dynasty survived until 1171, its territories in Sicily, Syria and Palestine fell to its rivals and finally Saladin delivered the coup de grâce with his conquest of Egypt.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The historical descriptions of the Fatimid treasury corroborate the tangible evidence of the luxury and refinement of this court. Carved rock crystal vessels designed to contain precious substances such as attar (cat. no. 59), gossamer-thin textiles inscribed with the name and titles of the caliphs (cat. no. 62), and jewellery made of the finest filigree and enamel (cat. nos 63–66) reflect the Fatimid court’s opulence. Fatimid art shows a loose influence of Abbasid and Byzantine prototypes. While some elements of Fatimid lustreware pottery derive from Abbasid lustrewares, the iconography of large hares (cat. no. 57), figures engaged in sports such as cock-fighting, and the combination of foliated epigraphy and geometric ornament (cat. no. 56) are more typical of the Fatimids than the Abbasids. The descriptions of the Fatimid treasury call attention to how much was lost, but the few items that remain are witness to a period of great cultural wealth. Source: <a href="https://www.archnet.org/collections/52" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Aga Khan Museum</a> (<a href="https://www.archnet.org/publications/10037" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Spirit and Life</a> Catalogue, p.87)

Fatimid

Dates: 1066–1160 / 458 - 555 AHNames: Normandisch, Normando <blockquote>Refers to the period and style associated with the Normans, who were Norsemen from Denmark, Norway, and Iceland who raided the European coasts in the eighth and ninth centuries CE, settled in northern France in the early tenth century, reigned over the indigenous Frankish population, adopted their language, and eventually founded the duchy of Normandy. From Normandy, the Normans expanded to the British Isles, southern Italy, and Sicily. The style is particularly evident in designs of weapons and armor, the motte-and-bailey castle, and grand Romanesque ecclesiastical and monastic structures. The style is characterized by the brilliant adaptation and exploitation of indigenous local styles combined with some influences of the Byzantine east, which were introduced to the area by Norman adventurers and pilgrims.</blockquote> Getty: <a href="http://vocab.getty.edu/page/aat/300020851" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">http://vocab.getty.edu/page/aat/300020851</a>

Castello di MaredolcePalermo, Italy

Castello di Maredolce
Palermo, Italy