The name Zisa come from the Arabic word for 'splendid' and without a doubt this 12th-century Arab-Norman palace was built to be just that. Although its heyday has long past and the riches that once adorned the Zisa's walls have disappeared, architecture and history buffs will love getting lost within the thick walls of this hermetic palace which were designed to protect the nobility from the sweltering southern Italian sun. An irrigation system that cooled the palace, help the Norman king who lived here live like a Sultan.