CHRIST PANTOCRATOR

The mosaics of La Martorana Church, dating to around 1150, are arranged in a simple, symmetrical pattern, in which everything revolves around the all-powerful figure of Christ Pantocrator, depicted at the center of the dome. Christ is seated on the throne administering blessings surrounded by angels in adoration. The Prophets are depicted on the drum that connects the church to the dome, and you can see the Four Evangelists in the niches.

If you look carefully, you’ll see that the scenes and the figures become progressively less important the closer they are to the ground, representing the passage from heaven to earth. On the vault of the triumphal arch is the Annunciation, and in the side apses you can admire Saint Joachim and Saint Anne, while the central apse, destroyed to build the choir for the nuns, originally there was an image of the Virgin Mary. The 8 Apostles are depicted on the vaults, while near the entrance, in the space occupied by worshippers during mass, you can admire the magnificent Nativity of Jesus and the Transit of the Virgin.