Absidi poligonali e impianti basilicali della Sicilia tardomedievale

The planimetric design adopted in Norman cathedrals and specifically in Monreale Cathedral served as a model in the design of new churches in Sicily untile the beginning of the modern period. However, it is not a matter of mere repetition but of a template that witnessed various "reformulations".Some casesshow a variation in apsidal iconography, where the semicircular shape is replaced by a polygonal plan probably linked to the arrival of formal, technical and construction solutions of the Gothic period. The debut in Sicily of a poligonal solution clearly concieved as an alternative to the semicircular iconography seems to be attributable to the construction of the Franciscan basilicas of Palermo and Messina, in the second half of the 13th century. After these episodic beginnings, polygonal solutions seemed to spread from the 14th century, with a success lasting at least until the early decades of the 16th century. The paper gives an overview of the various facets of the theme seen in the architecture of Sicily in the large time span indicated by offering precise reflections on reference models, benefits and reasons that underlie a choice apparently only formal, but in reality full of several implications.