Palace of Cuba

The Palace of Cuba is the castle of the kings of Sicily in the suburbs of Palermo. It is a unique monument of Arab style.

The castle was built in the XII century by order of the monk Wilhelm II the Good near his main residence. The monk was very fond of the oriental style, which is why Arabic was chosen as the main style for the castle. In the XIII century, the famous Italian writer Boccaccio made the interiors of the castle the scene of one of his works “Decameron”.

After Sicily lost its independence, the castle changed its owners for a long time. At the beginning of the XVII century it was a hospital, later the castle was occupied by cavalry, which remained there until the XIX century.

The castle is built in the shape of a cube, hence the name. The facades of the castle are decorated with arches and pointed windows. Inside you can see carvings of stone, as well as carved inscriptions in Arabic.