Monreale is a small town in the province of Palermo. It derives its name from the derivation Monte Reale (mountain of the kings). The town dominates the city of Palermo from above, its position is strategic to offer a view of the entire bay of the Sicilian capital. The most evocative place is definitely the Norman-Byzantine style Cathedral. The cathedral has been named World Heritage Site by UNESCO as well as other important places such as the church of Cefalù.

The History

The city of Monreale was born with the Norman domination of the island around the eleventh century. It was the place where the Norman rulers withdrew to rest after the efforts of the wars and the government of the Kingdom. It was on a night in 1171 that King William II called the Good, had in a dream the apparition of the Madonna that revealed to him the place where was hidden an immense treasure (war booty of his father), with whom William had to erect a temple dedicated to her. The king began without delay the construction of the temple, the Archbishop’s Palace and the cloister. He arranged that a hundred monks of the Badia di Cava, led by the Abbot Teobaldo, would move to Monreale to officiate in the temple. They arrived in Monreale on March 20, 1176 and Abbot Teobaldo was awarded the title of “Lord of the City”. On 5 February 1182, Lucio III, at the request of the same Guglielmo, elevated the church of Monreale to “Metropolitan Cathedral”. The first archbishop of the diocese of Monreale was Fra ‘Guglielmo of the Benedictine monastery. At the end of the seventeenth century the Archbishop of Monreale owned 72 feuds. From the elevation to the Metropolitan Cathedral to today, the seat of Monreale has had 54 archbishops and, among these, 14 cardinals of the Church. Even before the Duomo was finished, the world spoke of it with wonder: the same Pope Alexander III, in a bull sent to the sovereign in 1174, expressed all his joy for the solemnity of the monument.

The Dome

The most representative building of Monreale is the Cathedral built, always by William II, between 1172 and 1176. The style of this monument known and appreciated throughout the world is composite, because they combine different tastes that refer to architecture of northern Europe and Arab art. The two massive and solemn towers, flanking the entrance portico (built in the 18th century) do not retain the original form, since after a lightning (1807) one remained mutilated.

The Apse

The bronze doors in Romanic style are very important: the main one, executed by Bonanno Pisano, is composed of forty panels with scenes taken from the biblical narratives. Although referring to the Byzantine culture, these mosaics (especially the more recent ones) are influenced by the Romanic language of those of San Marco in Venice. One of the highest moments is the image of Christ Pantocrator (in the apsidal basin) that seems to dominate the entire sacred hall.

The Tresaure

The interior, illuminated by the magnificent gold-shimmering mosaics that create the illusion of being in a heavenly place, is a Latin cross, with aisles divided by columns surmounted by a rhythmic sequence of pointed arches. The entire building is covered with mosaics dating back to the time of William II the Good and perhaps Tancredi (1194). The narration, which extends for a good 7584 m², tells the whole story of Christianity in moments of expectation of Christ, his earthly life and what happened after his death and resurrection.

Among the treasures of the cathedral are the chapels of San Castrense, San Benedetto and SS. Crucifix: this last splendid example of baroque marble mixes. The church also houses the royal tombs of the first and second Guglielmo.

It is also interesting the treasure, which is accessed by the Chapel of the Crucifix, made in the Baroque period. The cloister, another place of delights for the eyes and the heart, is a true masterpiece of the art of sculpture and the inlay of semi-precious stones. The 228 twin columns, each of which has different decorations, are surmounted by elaborate capitals that support arcs of Arabic inspiration.

Also coeval to the construction of the Cathedral, the cloister has a quadrangular shape and encloses, in a small space, an entire collection of forms and cultures taken from Provencal, Burgundian art, from the classicism of the Salerno area and, as always in this area of ​​Sicily, from Arab art. In the southern corner is the square enclosure with the fountain with a high stem, which evokes the shape of the trunk of a palm tree, and refers, with the delicacy of shapes and colors, to the magical and sensual atmospheres of oriental homes.