Over the past century, the visual culture of Norman Sicily has been widely scrutinized and a coherent interpretative framework established primarily through the study of architecture and mosaic. By comparison, scholarship on Sicilian sculpture has lagged behind and uncertainty persists about the origins and development of the medium on the island. Most recently, in 2019, Francesco Gandolfo published a two-volume work aiming to fill this gap. Gandolfo’s study certainly constitutes a fundamental point of reference for this thesis, but it also raises as many questions as it resolves. The aim of this project is to conduct a fresh analysis of Romanesque sculpture in Sicily and to evaluate the contribution that this analysis can make to our broader understanding of the artistic production of Norman Sicily as a whole.

This dissertation is divided into three parts, preceded by a prologue. The Prologue aims to outline the era of conquest spanning from 1061 to the commencement of Roger II’s rule in 1130. Parts I and II are devoted to the reign of Roger II (1130-1154), covering sculptural production in Cefalù and Palermo respectively, while Part III addresses the period following Roger’s death in 1154. This study aims to enhance the understanding of sculpture alongside architecture and other related decorative media, building on the syncretic approach emphasized by William Tronzo. Furthermore, this thesis aims to consider sculpture in Sicily in the context of the phenomenon of importations identified by Jeremy Johns, a cultural strategy that was launched as early as the 1130s, immediately after the foundation of the Kingdom, and whose shrewd director was George of Antioch, admiral of the Kingdom. Finally, the role that sculpture plays within the material production in Sicily during the Kingdom of Roger II will be situated both in a local and broader European context.