Page 145 - The Rough Guide of Sicily

extraordinary and extensive areas of Christian medieval mosaic-work in the world,

and are the apex of Sicilian-Norman art. Monreale is an easy day-trip from Palermo,
but once the tourists leave in the late afternoon the prospect of a quiet night in town
might appeal, and there are plenty of characterful B&Bs in the medieval alleys near
the cathedral.

It’s hard to look beyond the Duomo, but Monreale itself is a handsome small town
with a dense latticework of streets and (mostly locked) Baroque churches. For the
famous view down the valley, stroll into the courtyard of the new convent (built in

1747) behind the cathedral cloisters to the belvedere (the entrance is from the other
corner of Piazza Gugliemo). Come passeggiata time the main Via Roma pulses with
life, and you don’t have to walk very far along here to swap touristy mosaic galleries
and gift shops for butchers, grocers and hardware stores.

Brief history

Monreale’s cathedral owes its existence to young King William II’s rivalry with his
powerful Palermitan archbishop, the Englishman Walter of the Mill. Work had
started on Walter’s fine cathedral in the centre of the city in 1172. Determined to
quickly break the influence of his former teacher, William endowed a new monastery
in his royal grounds outside the city in 1174, and its abbey church – the Duomo at

Monreale – was thrown up in a matter of years. Monreale was made an archbishopric
in 1183, two years before Walter’s cathedral was finished, and this unseemly haste
had two consequences. As a highly personal project, Monreale’s power lasted only as
long as William did: although he wanted to create a royal pantheon, he was the last
king to be buried here. But the speed with which the Duomo was built ensured the

splendid uniformity of its interior art – a galaxy of mosaic pictures bathed in a golden
background.

The Duomo

Piazza Guglielmo II • Mon–Sat 9am–12.45pm & 2.30–6pm, Sun 8am–10am & 2.30–5.30pm • Tower and terrace
€1.50, combined ticket with treasury €2 • cattedraledimonreale.it
Monreale’s Duomo presides magisterially over the town centre, facing two open
squares and flanked by alleys teeming with souvenir stalls and gift shops. A ticket

desk provides access to the tower and terrace for some sweeping views, and there’s
a combined ticket to see the collection of reliquaries in the treasury. Before or after
going inside, walk around the exterior to wonder at the enormous triple apse, a
polychromatic jumble of limestone and lava, supported by slender columns and

patterned by a fine series of interlacing arches. To see it, go through the arched alley
(Arco degli Angeli) to the left of the Duomo entrance.

Bear in mind that despite the continual influx of tourists, you may not be allowed in if