Palazzo dei Normanni, also known as Palazzo Reale - The Royal Palace - a historic residence of the kings of Sicily, nestled in the historic center of Palermo. The palace is remarkable in itself as a monument of Arab-Norman architecture, in addition, it is located inside the Palatine Chapel - refined and luxuriously decorated private chapel of the Kings.

A long time ago on the site of the current construction of the Palazzo were already owned by the Phoenicians .  Later they were replaced by Roman strengthen .  When the Arabs conquered Sicily in the 9th century, they built on the site of the ancient ruins of the castle, called the Emir's palace - hence monitored the inhabitants of Palermo .  At the end of the 11th century the power of the island passed to the Normans, and at the direction of Duke Robert Guiscard in the palace of the emirs was undeveloped government residence .  All the buildings are connected to each other by arches and was surrounded by gardens, broken finest medieval gardeners .  A nephew of Guiscard, Roger II, and all turned the former fortress into a magnificent palace .  At it in 1132 it was equipped with the famous Palatine Chapel and built four towers - Leaning, Red, Greek and Dzhoariya .  Son of Roger King William I Evil build another tower - Kirimbi .  Unfortunately, up to now remained only Pisa, dedicated to St. Ninfa .  In the late 18th century, it was an astronomical observatory . 

Over a century Palazzo dei Normanni flourished and even became the seat of the imperial dynasty Gogenshtatsfenov. However, after losing to Palermo its capital status, and until the 16th century palace, once again it becomes a normal fortress. In those years, it was lost most of the environment and the interior of the palace.

In the 16-17 centuries, when the Palazzo became the residence of the Spanish viceroys of Sicily, it has undergone several renovations, during which has been considerably expanded. It created a new front facade facing Piazza Victoria, designed the Fountain Courtyard and the Maqueda courtyard, named after one of the viceroys. In 1735 the yard Maqueda using the grand staircase connected to the royal apartments on the third floor. Today, Palazzo dei Normanni is the seat of the Parliament of the autonomous region of Sicily. A Palatine Chapel - without a doubt the best example of APAO-Norman-Byzantine style - has been turned into a museum, where visitors can admire the magnificent golden mosaics, painted wooden ceilings and marble inlays.