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monreale |
| Whether or not you get to mountain or beach, you really shouldn't
miss Sicily's most extraordinary medieval mosaics in the cathedral at
MONREALE (Royal Mountain). This small hill-town, 8km southwest of
Palermo, commands unsurpassed views down the Conca d'Oro Valley, with
the capital shimmering in the distant bay. Bus #309 or #389 runs
frequently from Piazza dell'Indipendenza, and the journey up the valley
takes twenty minutes. Monreale's Norman Duomo (daily 8am-6pm) flanks one
side of Piazza Vittorio Emanuele. The rather severe, square-towered
exterior - though handsome enough - is no preparation for what's inside:
the most impressive and extensive area of Christian medieval mosaic work
in the world, the apex of Sicilian-Norman art. The cathedral, and the town that grew up around it in the twelfth century, both owe their existence to young King William II's rivalry with his powerful Palermitan archbishop, the Englishman Walter of the Mill. William endowed a new monastery in his royal grounds in 1174; the abbey church - this cathedral - was thrown up in a matter of years. This haste accounts for the splendid uniformity of the cathedral's galaxy of coloured mosaics, all bathed in a golden background. The mosaics were almost certainly executed by Greek and Byzantine craftsmen, and they reveal a unitary plan and inspiration. Once inside, your eyes are immediately drawn across the wooden ceiling to the all-embracing half-figure of Christ in benediction in the central apse: an awesome and pivotal mosaic, the head and shoulders alone almost twenty metres high. Underneath sit an enthroned Madonna and Child, attendant angels and, below, ranks of saints, each individually and subtly coloured and identified by name. Worth singling out here is the figure of Thomas à Becket (marked SCS Thomas Cantb ), canonized in 1173, just before the mosaics were begun, and presumably included as a show of support by William for the papacy. The nave mosaics are no less remarkable, an animated series that starts with the Creation (to the right of the altar) and runs around the whole church. Most scenes are instantly recognizable: Adam and Eve, Abraham on the point of sacrificing his son, a positively jaunty Noah's Ark; even the Creation, shown in a set of glorious, simplistic panels portraying God filling his world with animals, water, light ... and people. Ask at the desk by the entrance to climb the tower (L2000/¬1.03) in the southwest corner of the cathedral. The steps give access to the roof and leave you standing right above the central apse - an unusual and precarious vantage point. It's also worth visiting the cloisters (Mon-Sat 9am-7pm, Sun 9am-1pm; L8000/¬4.13), part of William's original Benedictine monastery. The formal garden is surrounded by an elegant arcaded quadrangle, 216 twin columns supporting slightly pointed arches - a legacy of the Arab influence. No two capitals are the same, each a riot of detail and imagination: armed hunters doing battle with winged beasts; flowers, birds, snakes and foliage. Entrance to the cloisters is from Piazza Guglielmo, in the corner by the right-hand tower of the cathedral. |