The Architectural Foundation of Santa Barbara is pleased to announce a lecture by art and architectural historian Allan Langdale, Ph.D., at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 17.

Professor Langdale will present an illustrated talk on the “The Norman Art and Architecture of Sicily.” There will be a suggested donation of $10 at the door.

The Norman art and architecture of medieval Sicily represents one of history’s most remarkable creative moments. When French Normans conquered Sicily in the 11th century — in the same era that they conquered England, in 1066 — they ruled over an island that had been Muslim for almost three centuries and Byzantine several centuries before that. The resultant merging of cultures produced some of the most compelling works of architecture and architectural decoration the world has ever seen.

This lecture takes you on a tour of some of Sicily’s Norman-era masterpieces: the Palatine Chapel and the Church of the Admiral in Palermo; and the spectacular church and monastery cloister at Monreale.

Langdale is a freelance scholar, travel writer and documentary filmmaker who has taught at the University of California at both Santa Cruz and Santa Barbara. An art historian specializing in architecture, he has taught several courses in many aspects of world architecture.

He is the author of many articles on the archeology and historical architecture of northern Cyprus, and has traveled widely in the Mediterranean, Black Sea, Red Sea and Indian Ocean. He also directed and produced the award-winning documentary film The Stones of Famagusta: The Story of a Forgotten City, which tells the remarkable story of one of the Mediterranean’s most famous medieval cities.

He is the author of the definitive field survey of the art and architecture of Northern (Turkish) Cyprus and regularly works on small-ship cultural cruises for Zegrahm Expeditions and Smithsonian Tours. He is currently writing a book titled Palermo: Travels in the City of Happiness.

The Architectural Foundation is located at 229 E. Victoria St., in the historic Acheson House at the corner of Garden and East Victoria streets in Santa Barbara. The primary entrance on Garden Street is ramp accessible. For more information, click here or call 805.965.6307.