Cuba was one of the residences, located outside the city in the royal park called Genoarde, built by the Norman sovereigns of Sicily and intended for their leisure.
<p>Cuba dates from 1180. It is a rectangular building initially decorated with a dome that has disappeared. The building was surrounded by a large artificial lake called the Peschiara.
</p><p>Inside, the central space had in its center a basin from which water flowed to the outer basin. The interior decorated in the Arabic style had stalactic corbelled vaults (mouqarnas). The photo shows this.
</p><p>As with other Arab-Norman residences, the facade is decorated with large arches, without windows. The facade ends with an epigraphic frieze in kufic characters indicating the name of King William II and the date of construction.
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Wikipedia article on Cuba
<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.flickr.com/people/72746018@N00">dalbera</a> from Paris, France
CC BY 2.0
<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/dalbera/7034575397/">Muqarnas à l'intérieur de la Cuba (Palerme)</a>