Cattedrale

It was built in 1184 by the will of the archbishop Gualtiero Offamilio, in honor of the Virgin Assumption into heaven, on a place that until then had hosted a previous place of worship; mosque during the Arab regency period; converted into a building of Christian worship following the expulsion of the Saracens and the settlement of the Normans.
Most of the modifications and additions date back to the 18th century.
As for the exterior of the cathedral of Palermo, it is embellished by four Norman-type towers, with mullioned windows and columns, which are grafted along the four corners of the building, while in the southern part it presents the connection, through two ogival arches, with the Archbishop´s palace: these characteristics make the church similar to a castle and a symbol of temporal rather than spiritual power.