San Giovanni degli eremiti is one of the largest monasteries of Palermo, once owned by the monks of the Benedictine monks. Situated between the Palazzo dei Normanni and the Church of San Giuseppe in Cafasso, it is a monument of the Arab-Norman architecture.

According to the legend, at the beginning of the 1st Millennium, there was a pagan temple of mercury. In the 6th century by order of Pope Gregory I, there was founded a monastery, consecrated in honor of St. Hermias. And when Sicily was conquered by the Arabs, they turned the monastery into a mosque. However, historians and archaeologists have not been found on the site of San Giovanni degli eremiti traces how an ancient pagan temple and a later monastery and the mosque, so all of the above remains only a legend.

It is known, however, that in 1136 Roger II ordered to build near his Royal Palace Benedictine monastery for monks of MONTEVERGINE. Interestingly, the Abbot of the monastery he was consecrated Bishop and became the personal Confessor of the king. He had the right to conduct services in the famous Palatine chapel. Himself Roger II also bequeathed to bury all the unofficial members of his family in this monastery, but his instruction was never implemented.

Causes of neglect of the monastery still remain unknown. In the mid-15th century, cardinal Giovanni Nicola Ursino, with the permission of Pope Paul II gave structure to the monks of San Martino delle Rock. And in 1866, San Giovanni degli eremiti, like most monasteries of Italy, was abolished. In the late 19th century its walls were carried out extensive restoration work, which the building acquired its initial Arab-Norman appearance. Today it houses a Museum.

The architecture of the monastery and its Church is quite remarkable. A distinctive feature of the Church are five red hemispherical domes, typical of the mosques of Egypt and North Africa. In Palermo, something similar can be seen in the Church of San Cataldo. Right adjacent to the Church is a small rectangular building that is considered a modified Arabic mosque 9-11 centuries. However, evidence for this was found. Another feature of San Giovanni degli eremiti is the fact that his cloister gallery, forming the patio has no roof.

The interior of the religious complex is very strict – there was not found traces of mosaics or frescoes, which probably disappeared due to long absence of the roof of the Church.