Valeria Di Stefano

I am a licensed guide for the province of Palermo and hold a degree in medieval history. I wrote my thesis on the Norman kings of Sicily and have never quite recovered from Roger II. In the 1100s Palermo was one of the largest cities in Europe, ruled by Norman kings who kept Arab administrators, Greek mosaicists and Latin clergy at the same court. You can still see it: the Palatine Chapel, with a Fatimid wooden ceiling above Byzantine gold mosaics, the red domes of San Giovanni degli Eremiti, and Monreale Cathedral on the hill, with 6,400 square metres of mosaic. My tours explain how these pieces fit together. I lived in Heidelberg for five years, so German is my second language. These days I guide Palermo live on video: I walk the streets with my phone and answer your questions as we go.