Tag: Palatino Hills

What to see in Rome? Italy Muslim friendly destination Rome  its a spectacle, may not be the capital of the world these days, but it is still one of the most amazing historical cities in the world.  The Muslim presence in Italy dates back to the 8th century when the island of Pantelleria (Sicily) was conquered by the Arabs. They were strong in this lands until the 12th century; even though, a small Muslim community survived at least until 1300 in a place called Lucera. In times of Muslims, agriculture in Sicily prospered and became export oriented and the Arts and crafts flourished as well. Palermo, the Muslim capital of the island, had 300,000 inhabitants an exhorbitant number by that date. Nowadays there are 1.400.000 Muslims in Italy, the majority are Sunni, with a Shi'ite minority.  Mosque of Rome The Mosque of Rome is located at the foot of Mount Antenne, in the Parioli neighbourhood, inaugurated in 1995 this is the only Islamic temple in Rome and the largest Mosque in Europe too. The Mosque is equally beautiful both in its interiors and exteriors. It has been designed by the Iraqi architect Sami Mousawi and the Italian architect Paolo Portoghesi. The outcome is a fascinating architecture made of repetitious designs and amazing geometric patterns, where an important role is played by the light aimed to create a meditative atmosphere and several tricks of light as well, such as the different temperature of light between the two main sections of the Mosque: the warmer and the colder. Beautiful mosaics creating more optical effects and the floor is covered by an extremely soft Persian carpet with geometrical patterns as well. There is a curious feature regarding the height of the minaret, the only one in the world lacking loudspeakers for calling the faithful to prayer, since during construction a limitation on the height was