The Palazzo dei Normanni — Royal Palace — anchors the western end of the old town and is the principal Arab-Norman monument in Sicily. The lower courses are Phoenician and Roman; the upper floors are Norman, Aragonese, and Bourbon, the whole built around a central Renaissance courtyard with arcaded loggias by Antonio Belguardo.
Beyond the Cappella Palatina, the main interior draw is the Sala di Re Ruggero, a small mid-12th-century reception room covered in mosaics of peacocks, hunting scenes, and palm trees — pure Fatimid imagery executed by Byzantine artists for a Norman king. Tickets cover the chapel and royal apartments together; arrive early in summer.