Cuba Palace
On Gingerguide's self-guided Palermo audio tour, Cuba Palace is a stop worth about ~30 min. Stand in front of it, press play for a short narrated story, and put any follow-up question to the built-in AI guide.
- Type palace
- Suggested visit ~30 min
- Palermo Palermo guide
About Cuba Palace
A remarkably preserved 12th-century Norman pleasure palace built in pure Islamic style, part of the same pleasure-garden complex as the Zisa, used by Boccaccio as a setting in the Decameron.
The Cuba, from the Arabic qubba, meaning 'dome', was built by Norman King William II in 1180 as part of the extensive pleasure gardens that surrounded Palermo's royal city outside the walls. Like the Zisa, it was designed by Arab architects in the Islamic palatial style, with a central courtyard, pointed-arch galleries, and Arabic inscriptions carved into the exterior walls. The building is remarkably well preserved on the exterior: the merlonated battlements, the blind arcade of interlaced arches, and the Arabic inscription naming William II as the patron are all intact. In the mid-14th century, Boccaccio used the Cuba as the setting for one of the stories in the Decameron, the tale of Gian di Procida and the lady Restituta, making it one of the few Italian medieval buildings to be directly cited in great literature. The interior is now used as a military barracks but the exterior can be visited.
Did you know? The Cuba is one of the very few medieval buildings in Italy cited as a specific setting in canonical literature: Boccaccio used its gardens as the backdrop for a story in the Decameron (c.1353).
How much time do you need at Cuba Palace?
Around ~30 min works well for Cuba Palace — time to look properly and listen to its story on the spot. Linger if you like; nothing on a self-guided walk is on a clock.
Should you stop at Cuba Palace?
Yes — Cuba Palace made the cut as one of 22 places the Gingerguide team researched and narrated across Palermo. The story tells you why it is worth the stop, and the AI guide fills in anything you still wonder.
Nearby stops in Palermo
Hear the story of Cuba Palace
Preview the Palermo tour free in the Gingerguide app.