Arabs, Normans & Aragonese
The medieval centuries — Arab Sicily and the salt and tuna trades, the Norman conquest, and the long Aragonese and Spanish rule that gave Trapani its churches, its towers and its baroque heart.
Part of Trapani
8 moments in this segment.
- — Arab Trapani. Under Arab rule from the 9th century, Trapani flourishes as a port — coral, salt and tuna trades grow, and Sicilian-Arabic words still season the local dialect and cuisine.
- — The Norman conquest. The Normans under Roger I take western Sicily in the late 11th century, beginning the Latin-Christian Trapani of churches and castles.
- — Castello di Terra. The medieval castle guarding the city, with foundations reaching back to Punic and Roman fortifications on the headland.
- — Aragonese & Spanish rule. After the 1282 Sicilian Vespers, Trapani passes to the Crown of Aragon and then to Spain — centuries that build its towers, walls and baroque churches.
- — The Madonna di Trapani. The serene marble Madonna and Child attributed to Nino Pisano (14th century), venerated in the Sanctuary of the Annunciation and copied across the Mediterranean.
- — Trapani coral. From the 15th to the 18th century Trapani is Europe's capital of worked red coral — intricate reliquaries, crucifixes and jewellery prized in courts and churches.
- — The Cathedral of San Lorenzo. Trapani's baroque cathedral on the Corso, rebuilt in the early 18th century with a luminous columned façade.
- — Chiesa del Purgatorio. The church that houses the twenty sculpted groups of the Misteri — the heart of Trapani's Good Friday procession.
