The Benedictine Cloister is a wonderful example of Byzantine architecture in Sicily.
Belonging to the complex of the Benedictine Abbey of Santa Maria la Nuova, founded in 1174 at the behest of the Norman king William II.
Built in a square plan, measuring 47 meters on each side, the arched portico is interrupted by the so-called “small cloister” which houses a round fountain on which stands a column carved in the shape of a palm tree.
The capitals of the corner columns depict the seasonal work of the countryside.
Each side of the Cloister of Monreale includes 26 arches supported by richly decorated mosaic columns and adorned, both in the capitals and in the bases, with a great variety of motifs.
Scenes from the Old and New Testaments are carved on the capitals.
Among the most decorated capitals are that of the Annunciation, in the north-east corner, and that of the dedication which is number 19 on the right side, which represents King William while offering the new church to the Virgin.
In each of the four sectors of the monastic garden bordered by the columns, a symbolic tree was planted: a date palm (symbol of justice), a fig tree (symbol of peace and abundance), a pomegranate (symbol of fertility) and an olive tree (symbol of peace).
