The Palazzo dei Normanni (Norman Palace), also known as the Palazzo Reale (Royal Palace), is a palace in the Italian city of Palermo, Sicily which served as the seat of the Hauteville Kings of Sicily and as the seat of the Sicilian Regional Assembly since 1946. The original building on the site, al-Qasr ("the Castle"), was built in the 9th century AD by the Moorish Emirate of Sicily. Following the Norman conquest of Sicily in 1072, the Normans established Palermo as capital of the County of Sicily (and later the Norman Kingdom of Sicily), and the palace was chosen as the main residence of the Norman rulers. In 1132, King Roger II of Sicily added the famous Capella Palatina to the complex. Under the Holy Roman Empire, the Palazzo dei Normanni maintained its administrative functions and was the center of King Frederick II's "Sicilian School" of poetry, although the Holy Roman Emperors, Angevins, and Aragonese preferred other seats. During the late 16th century, the Spanish Viceroys of Sicily chose the Palazzo dei Normanni as their official residence, and they created a system of bastions to fortify the palace. The House of Bourbon also built additional reception rooms in the 18th century. In 1946, the palace became the seat of the Regional Assembly.
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