Zisa Castle – The legend of the Devils

The Zisa Castle has a name which derives from the Arabic “al-Aziz”, which means “glorious”, “magnificent”. It is a building erected outside the walls of the city of Palermo, within the Norman royal park. The castle is a construction that dates back to the twelfth century, the period of Norman rule in Sicily.

Commissioned by King William I of Altavilla to make it his summer residence, it was built by Arab architects. The influence of the previous domination, in fact, was still very strong. As a result, the Normans, fascinated by Islamic culture, followed the style.

In the castle of the Zisa still lives a legend, the “legend of the Devils”, known to the most with the name of “Devils of the Zisa”. Inside the palace there is in fact a fresco composed by a remarkable quantity of mythological figures, whose number is still undetermined. The puzzle derives from the fact that counting the figures of the fresco, is often difficult because you are forced to make a turn on themselves with the head up and therefore happen to lose the account.

The legend wants at the center of this nice mystery, a golden treasure, placed somewhere inside the building and visible only to the one who will be able to count the figures on the fresco.
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