The Cathedral of Monreale is famous for its structure, for the richness of the interiors, for the mosaics, and is considered the most grandiose religious monument of the Norman era in Sicily.
It was built by William II in 1186. According to tradition, the sovereign ordered the construction of the Cathedral following a vision of the Virgin. Work was completed in 1267.
The building is a Latin cross 102 meters long and 40 meters wide, with three naves separated by two rows of nine columns each, all of granite except for one, the first on the right, which is made of marble from an ancient Roman building.
The structure underwent several renovations and numerous extensions over the centuries. Among these, it is worth mentioning the construction of the oldest portico, built during the Spanish domination between 1547 and 1569. In 1595 the Chapel of San Castrense was built, whose altar contains the relics of the Saint.
The main façade of the Cathedral of Monreale is located in Piazza Guglielmo II: it is between two typically Norman bell towers, one of which (the one on the left) is slightly lower than the other due to a lightning strike that struck it in 1807. The façade then has an eighteenth-century portico with three arches, surmounted by a balustrade and decorated with typical Arab elements.
Interiors also have some typical Byzantine elements such as the cross of the transept with a square plan and the mosaic decoration.
The mosaics are certainly the most fascinating and famous elements of the Cathedral of Monreale. In fact, they cover a large part of the Cathedral: they are mosaics of the Byzantine school with a gold background, executed between the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.
The most important mosaic is certainly Christ Pantocrator which occupies the entire apse basin: it is a depiction of Christ in an attitude of glory and majesty. Around this figure you can find numerous mosaics representing the Virgin, the Holy Apostles and the angels.
On the southern side of the transept are the sarcophagi of the Norman kings: the porphyry sarcophagi of William I is the original monument. That of William II, made of marble with decorations dating back to the sixteenth century, replaces the original burial destroyed in a fire.
The wooden roof replaces the one destroyed by fire in 1811. The original ceiling had a decoration with muqarnas similar to those of the Palatine Chapel in Palermo.
An interesting detail is the occasional use of layers of wood between some large stones of the thick walls: they are like an anti-seismic pad; the wood absorbs the shock allowing it to withstand earthquakes.
