t The enormous apse mosaic of Christ Pantocrator (12th to 13th century)
The cathedral at Monreale sits high above the Conca d’Oro, a fertile plain overlooking Palermo. Despite its rather austere exterior, the cathedral’s interior is embellished with the most extensive and significant mosaic cycle of its kind in Sicily.
t The enormous apse mosaic of Christ Pantocrator (12th to 13th century)
Magnificently adorned, and with a splendid view of the Conca d’Oro, the Duomo at Monreale is one of the greatest sights of Norman Sicily. Founded in 1172 by the Norman King William II, it flanks a monastery of the Benedictine Order. The interior of the cathedral glitters with mosaics carried out by Sicilian and Byzantine artists – commissioned by a king who wanted to rival the power of the Archbishop of Palermo. Like Cefalù, and later Palermo, it was to serve as a royal sepulchre, housing the tombs of William I and William II.
Experience Sicily
t The cathedral at Monreale, a triumph of Norman architecture
Monreale Cathedral’s interior contains around 6,500 sq m (70,000 sq ft) of brilliant mosaics.