According to tradition, King Roger II of Sicily founded the cathedral after a vow to the Holy Saviour following a storm. Construction began in 1131, the facade was completed in 1240, and the cathedral was consecrated in 1267. The article names no architect and gives no dimensions. A portico was added in 1472 by Ambrogio da Como.
The infobox says Norman-Arab-Byzantine, while the text calls it essentially Romanesque in massive form, with Gothic pointed arches and a fortress-like character. It has a Latin cross plan with a transept higher than the nave, and two Norman towers with different 15th-century spires. The nave arcades use fourteen pink granite columns and two of cipolin.
Gold-ground mosaics were begun in the apse in 1145 and finished before 1170 by masters brought from Constantinople, with Christ Pantokrator in the semi-dome. The cloister served as a model for later Norman cloisters in Sicily.
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