Monreale Cathedral, Sicily

The Cathedral of Monreale, Sicily, located just south of the Sicilian capital of Palmero, was begun in 1174. Officially named Santa Maria la Nuova (Saint Mary the New), the cathedral was constructed under the direction of William II, King of Sicily, and a monastery and archbishop’s palace were constructed alongside the church. Several unique stories concerning William’s motivation for constructing the church are offered.

Some allege that William was angered by the Archbishop of Palermo’s interventions concerning where his father, the unfortunately named “William the Bad,” was interred, and thus sought to build an even more splendid cathedral and appoint his own archbishop in Monreale. Others allege a less exciting and perhaps pettier motive, namely, that William desired to outdo the chapel built by his grandfather in Palermo. Still others, inspired by faith or romance, tell of a young William falling asleep under a tree while on a hunt and receiving a vision from the Virgin Mary asking him to build a church on the site. In this last telling, miraculously, gold is found buried among the roots of the tree with which to fund the construction.

Constructed in a time of Norman rule (William II was from Norman lineage) in a land that bore additional influences of Arab culture (who had ruled the island before the arrival of the Normans for over two centuries) and Byzantine culture, the cathedral achieved a fusion of rarely-combined elements. The solid Norman structure, while displaying impressive design elements on the exterior, fails to advertise the full extent of its beauty through its façade alone.

While the structure itself consists of a fascinating combination of styles and cultural influences, what first strikes the pilgrim’s eye upon entering the cathedral are the Byzantine glass mosaics. Nearly 65,000 square feet of mosaics cover the interior, presenting stories from throughout the Bible and images of the saints. The dazzling gold background that forms the foundation of the mosaics was executed with gold leaf over glass tiles. Christ dominates the central apse, with his arms raised and outstretched as they curve with the structure. In smaller apses on either side, Sts. Peter and Paul are depicted. While stories from the Old Testament are depicted in the nave, stories from the life of Christ are presented in the transept and along the aisles of the church. The mosaics were largely constructed during the 1180s and have thus covered the walls of the church from its earliest days.