Sicilian Parliament

The Sicilian Parliament was the legislature of the Kingdom of Sicily.

The Sicilian Parliament is arguably considered one of the oldest parliaments in the world (the first legislature in the modern sense).

In 1097 came the first conference in Mazara del Vallo convened by Roger I the Great Count of a parliament initially travelling. The Sicilian Parliament was made up of three branches: from feudalism, from the Ecclesiastical and from the State Property. The feudal branch was formed by nobles representatives of counties and baronies, the ecclesiastical branch was formed by archbishops, bishops, abbots and archimandrites, while the state-owned branch was formed by representatives of 42 autonomous towns in Sicily. The first Norman parliament was not a deliberative, and had only an advisory function and confirmation of the sovereign, especially in taxation, economics and wars. Members were chosen from the more powerful nobles.

Since 1130 meetings are held in the Palazzo dei Normanni, in Palermo. First radical change came with Frederick II of Swabia, which allowed the access part to civil society. After a period in the background during the reign of Anjou, the Parliament became the central focus of the organization of the Sicilian Vespers. On 3 April 1282, during the uprising, the red and yellow flag with the center triscele was adopted by Parliament: today is the flag of Sicily. With the Vespers and the subsequent settlement of Frederick III of Aragon in 1297, the Assembly strengthened its central role. This was the time that the permanent establishment of the Parliament was in the Castello Ursino, in Catania, at the Sala dei Parlamenti (Parliaments Hall). At this time consisted primarily of landowners, mayors of cities from the counts and barons, was chaired and convened by the king. Parliament had the constitutional responsibility to elect the king and to perform the function of body guaranteeing the proper conduct of ordinary justice exercised by executioners, judges, notaries and other officials of the kingdom.

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