While the interior is virtually devoid of decoration or furnishings, the red Norman-Byzantine domes, the medieval cloister ruins, and garden make this small church a symbol of ancient Palermo.

In the 19th century, under the guidance of Giuseppe Patricolo, director of the Royal office for the conservation of monuments of Sicily, the structures were restored aiming for his perspective of their original medieval appearance.

The church is notable for its brilliant red domes, which show clearly the persistence of Arab influences in Sicily at the time of its reconstruction in the 12th century, the Arab-Norman culture.

[3] In her 1882 Diary of an Idle Woman in Sicily, Frances Elliot described it as "... totally oriental... it would fit well in Baghdad or Damascus".

It has notable small double columns with capitals decorated by vegetable motifs, which support ogival arches.