Monreale

Monreale lies above Palermo, on the slope of Monte Caputo, overlooking the very fertile valley called "La Conca d'oro" (the Golden Shell), famed for its orange, olive and almond trees.  Surveying Palermo and the Conca D’Oro from its panoramic hilltop position, Monreale would be a fairly non-descript town save for one of the world’s most stunning architectural treasures: the Duomo.

When the Arabs took control of Palermo in 831, they transformed the cathedral into a mosque and banished the Bishop of Palermo from town.  The role of the cathedral was assigned to a modest little church, Aghia Kiriaki, in the village nearby which was later called Monreale.  Some 240 years later, in 1072, the Normans drove the Arabs from Sicily, establishing Palermo as their capital and re-consecrating the cathedral.  In 1174 King William II ordered the construction of a new church in Monreale, dedicated to the Virgin Mary.  Enlightened, tolerant and appreciative of many aspects of North African and middle-eastern culture and art, William II employed the very best Arabic, Byzantine and Norman craftsmen to work on the cathedral. The result is a fascinating fusion of architectural styles, artistic traditions and religious symbolism.

It is, however, the large extent of the glass mosaics that makes this church so splendid.  With the exception of a high dado, made of marble slabs with bands of mosaic between them, the whole interior surface of the walls, including soffits and jambs of all the arches, is covered with minute mosaic-pictures in bright colors on a gold background.  The geometrically patterned marble floor, in-laid with Middle-Eastern mosaics, supports two lines of granite Corinthian columns that delineate the wide, lofty, wooden-roofed nave.  Lancet arches leap from column to column drawing the eye to the window-punctured clerestory and its astonishing display of art.

Outside the Cathedral, adjoining its south side is another artistic and architectonic masterpiece: the cloisters. Built in 1200 as part of the Cathedral abbey, the cloisters comprise 108 pairs of marble columns, a covered arcade of Arabic arches and a central quad. Every other pair of columns is decorated with unique mosaic patterns, no two are the same, each topped by a floral capital.  The overall effect is one of not quite perfect symmetry.

Wikipedia has some excellent images of the mosaics, particularly those near the bottom of the article which can be expanded, or google Monreale and then select images.

Cappella Palatina

Located within the Palazzo dei Normanni (Palace of the Normans), the Cappella Palatina (Palatine Chapel) is the finest example of Arab-Norman art in Palermo. Built by Roger II from 1130 to 1140, the chapel is adorned with extraordinary Norman-Byzantine mosaics.  The palace was originally built for the Arab emirs and their harems in the 9th century, on a site earlier occupied by Roman and Punic fortresses.

Eventually abandoned by the Arabs, the palace was fully restored by the conquering Normans. The Norman king Roger II completed the Palatine Chapel in 1140.  The chapel combines harmoniously a variety of styles: the Norman architecture and door decor, the Arabic arches and script adorning the roof, the Byzantine dome and mosaics. For instance, clusters of four eight-pointed stars, typical for Muslim design, are arranged on the ceiling so as to form a Christian cross. The mosaics depict a variety of saints and biblical scenes, some interpreted in unique ways - Adam and Eve are shown with the forbidden fruit in their mouths, already reaching for a second piece.  The colors of the mosaics have an extraordinary depth and vividness (the effect sometimes achieved by gold-backed tesserae and silver mosaic tiles) and the subjects have a realistic style.  The mosaiced interior is capped by a splendid 10th-century Arab honeycomb stalactite wooden ceiling, painted with biblical stories as well as scenes of Arab and Norman court life - including animal hunts, dances and even a picnic in a harem.

For a better look I suggest you visit the official site of the Cappella Palatina at http://www.cappellapalatinapalermo.it.  There you can take a virtual tour of the chapel.  After you click on Virtual Tour on the home page, click on Tour Virtuale della Cappella Palatina.  On the next page choose English or Italiano. At the bottom of the page if you click on menu, you get a navigation menu for the virtual tour. This link should take you directly to the virtual tour.  For more of my photographs visit my photo album.