Sitting majestically on a hill overlooking Palermo and one of the most beautiful Norman churches in Sicily, Cattedrale di Monreale was built in the 12th-century by King William II 'The Good' of Sicily, and marks the high point of the marriage between Norman-Arab Architecture and Byzantine craftsmanship. Inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, the dazzling Byzantine mosaics, made of pure gold and crafted by artisans from Constantinople, are among the most magnificent in the world. An enormous mosaic of Christ the Pantocrator in the central apse embraces cathedral visitors with outstretched arms, while colourful mosaics depict biblical and other religious events from the Old Testament saturate the walls of the central nave with the life of Jesus depicted on the side aisles, with mosaics of numerous saints and scenes from the Gospels found in the two smaller apse the transept. The neighbouring Benedictine Cloister is a another masterpiece of Norman- Arabian art, bordered by marble columns, each decorated with inlaid mosaic decorations and carved capitals, arranged around four quadrants of lawns inside clipped hedges. Built at the same time as the Cathedral, this amazing cloister is surrounded by over two hundred intricately carved double columns, every other one decorated in a unique glass mosaic pattern, with highly elaborate capitals carved by Byzantine and Islamic artists. One or the workers or, more likely, one of the helpers, wrote in Latin on one of the capitals: “I am the marble worker Costantino, a Roman son”.
The main square in Monreale
The exterior of Cattedrale di Monreale, built in the 12th-century by King William II of Sicily
An enormous mosaic of 'Christ the Pantocrator' with outstretched arms
Made of pure gold and crafted by artisans from Constantinople, the dazzling mosaics are among the most magnificent in the world
The cathedral marks the high point of the marriage between Norman-Arab Architecture and Byzantine craftsmanship in the 12th-century
All the surfaces are completely covered with beautiful mosaics, from the walls, to the ceilings and arches; the colourful wooden ceiling was extensively restored after the fire in 1811
Exquisite 12th-century inlaid marble and mosaic floor by famed Lorenzo Cosmati
The Chapel of the Holy Crucifix is a small Baroque treasure chest inside the wonderful Cathedral
Boys playing behind the Cathedral with its beautiful Arab-Norman architectural detailing
Built at the same time as the Cathedral, the neighbouring Benedictine Cloister is a another masterpiece of Norman-Arabian art and architecture
The cloister has 228 small columns, each with different decorations influenced by Provençal, Burgundian, Arab and Salerno medieval art
The capitals in the cloister of the abbey of Monreale were carved from white marble, but over time has acquired a thick, sandstone patina that covers them almost entirely
In one corner, a second room of columns formed an open "room" that contained a fountain with a broad basin: clearly reminiscent of an ablution fountain at a mosque
The beautiful Cloister fountain, exquisitely decorated with Arab and Norman designs
Bordered by marble columns each decorated with inlaid mosaics with carved capitals
Capital detail of King William II of Sicily and his wife, Queen Joan of England, the daughter of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, atop lovely carved columns
The C;sisters are a jewel of Arab-Norman art
Each quadrant of the garden had four small trees: an olive, a date palm, a pomegranate, and a fig
A pretty back street of Monreale
Our Tours by Locals guide Iolanda, who escorted us around Monreale
View of Palermo from Monreale
Overlooking one of the hills of Palermo, which surround the city
Enormously knowledgable and full of fun, Iolanda was a wonderful guide for our afternoon in Monreale
'Love locks' along a fence in Monreale by Sicilian sweethearts who throw away the key
to symbolize their unbreakable love
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