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The Church of the Martorana overlooks Piazza Bellini in Palermo and belongs to the Eparchy of Piana degli Albanesi, a Catholic diocese with a Greek-Byzantine rite. It is among the most fascinating Byzantine churches that exist in Sicily dating back to the Middle Ages. In Italy it testifies to the presence of Orthodox religious and artistic culture, still present today.
In its current appearance, you will clearly see the contrast between the Baroque façade and the wall surface of the original Norman construction, easily recognizable by the unmistakable characteristics of the ecclesiastical architecture of the Sicilian Middle Ages: the design of the arches, the ogival windows, the masonry carried out with rows of small well-squared ashlars and the presence of the dome. The interior, a true jewel of Byzantine art, has a Greek cross inscribed in a square, with the arms of the cross covered by barrel vaults and the rooms on the diagonals covered by cross vaults. The internal mosaic apparatus is very precious, among the oldest in Sicily, the paintings that make up the mosaic decoration follow a rigorous disposition of the liturgical program that presupposes them.