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The church of Santa Maria dell'Ammiraglio, seat of the parish ''Parrocchia San Nicolò dei Greci'' (Klisha e Shën Kollit së Arbëreshëvet in Albanian), commonly called the ''Martorana'', overlooking the Piazza Bellini in Palermo, Sicily, southern Italy. The church belongs to the Eparchy of Piana degli Albanesi of the Italo-Albanian Catholic Church, a diocese which includes the Albanian communities in Sicily who officiate the liturgy according to the Byzantine Rite in the ancient Greek language. The church is characterized by the multiplicity of styles that meet, because, with the succession of centuries, it was enriched by various other tastes in art, architecture and culture. Today, it is, in fact, as a church-historical monument, the result of multiple transformations, also subject to protection. ==History== The name ''Ammiraglio'' ("admiral") derives from the founder of the church, the Greek admiral and principal minister of King Roger II of Sicily, George of Antioch. The foundation charter of the church (which was initially Eastern Orthodox), in Greek and Arabic, is preserved and dates to 1143; construction may already have begun at this point. The church had certainly been completed by the death of George in 1151, and he and his wife were interred in the narthex. In 1184 the Arab traveller Ibn Jubayr visited the church, and later devoted a significant portion of his description of Palermo to its praise, describing it as "the most beautiful monument in the world." After the Sicilian Vespers of 1282 the island's nobility gathered in the church for a meeting that resulted in the Sicilian crown being offered to Peter III of Aragon.〔Kitzinger, ''Mosaics'', 15-21.〕 In 1193-94, a convent of Benedictine nuns was founded on adjacent property by Eloisa Martorana. In 1433-34, under the rule of King Alfonso of Aragon, this convent absorbed the church, which has since then been commonly known as ''La Martorana''. The nuns extensively modified the church between the 16th century and the 18th century, making major changes to the structure and the interior decoration.〔Kitzinger, ''Mosaics'', 21.〕 The nuns of the Martorana were famous for their moulded marzipan, which they made in the form of various fruits. Although the convent no longer exists, frutta di Martorana are still one of Palermo's most famous and distinctive foodstuffs. In 1935 Benito Mussolini returned the church to the control of Palermo's Greek Orthodox community. Today, it is used by the Italo-Greek Catholic Church for their services and shares cathedral status with the church of San Demetrio in Piana degli Albanesi. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Martorana」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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