Palermo, Italy - Chiesa di S. Giovanni degli Eremili. The church's origins date to the 6th century. After the Islamic conquest of Sicily, it was converted into a mosque. After the establishment of the Norman domination of southern Italy, it was returned to the Christians by Roger II of Sicily who (around 1136) entrusted it to the Benedictine monks of Saint William of Vercelli. The Coister (pictured here) has notable small double columns with capitals decorated by vegetable motifs, which support ogival arches. It also includes an Arab cistern