A visit to Monreale, a town a few kilometers from Palermo, renowned for the large Arab and Norman monumental complex consisting of the Cathedral and the Benedictine Monastery, structured around the magnificent Cloister.

We will visit the Cathedral whose interior is characterized by a vast mosaic apparatus in gold and precious stones of 6340 square metres which frames Christ Pantocrator, an immense hieratic image in the apse basin. The splendid floors, rich in porphyry and precious stone inserts, are matched by the magnificent wooden ceiling of clear Islamic inspiration. The exterior of the church features imposing apses, decorated with blind arches and lava stone inserts and a magnificent cloister characterized by paired columns and late Romanesque capitals decorated with sacred and profane scenes. Monreale represents the swansong of the Norman dynasty now at its end. A unique complex in Sicily, composed of a cathedral, a monastery and a royal palace, the result of William II's decision to move his center of power from Palermo to a secluded area, in an elevated position from which to dominate the city. Center of temporal and religious power, Monreale fuses for the last time the architectural styles of Islam with the decorative ones of Byzantine mosaics to exalt the ideology of a monarchy that definitively and decisively claims its Latin creed as the only plausible one in the kingdom . The shining mosaics tell the story of the church in over one hundred scenes, from Genesis to the New Testament and to the incarnate Christ, visually indicating to the faithful what they could not have read in books. In the cloister, once reserved only for monks, the 228 twin columns support the magnificent capitals with sacred and profane themes, with clear references to the European Romanesque bestiary.

Tour Details

• Meeting in Piazza Guglielmo II, in front of the façade of the Cathedral
• Duration: approximately 2 hours, with visit to the Cathedral and the Cloister (€10.00). 

Entrance fees: not included

Highlights Tour

Unesco sites
Mosaics
Arab-Normand route