Zisa Castle in Palermo, a UNESCO World Heritage site, owes its name to the Arabic word al ayz which means "splendid, noble". It was built during the Norman domination around 1165 on the lines of the great Islamic residences. It was immersed in nature, with palms and fragrant plants, water tanks and fountains.
The building has a rectangular shape with three horizontal orders corresponding to its three storeys. Three great ogival arches open on the main façade to provide access to the palace.
The ground floor has a long vestibule with the fountain room at the centre, this square room is decorated in Islamic style and crowned with a pointed cross vault with three large niches on each side of the room beneath half cupolas with muqarnas – beehive decorations. In the niche on an axis with the main entrance is the fountain, with a gold-backed mosaic panel above the spout which pours water down a marble slab into a little channel that cuts the floor at the centre of the room, continuing on into the adjacent fish farm. The first floor of the building, smaller and closed to the outside, was probably used by women. On the top floor a large window to the outside was used to admire the view.
The entire castello has ventilation tubes and cleverly placed windows that guarantee a continuous flow of air during the hot summer days. In 1955 the building was seized by the state, and restored. It has housed the Museum of Islamic art since 1991.
Sicilia Film Commission
Via Emanuele Notarbartolo 9 — 90141 Palermo
Phone: +39 091 7078008; +39 091 7078264; +39 091 7078133; +39 091 7078145
Email: filmcommission@regione.sicilia.it
