Hardly a long drive as-the-crow-flies from Palermo, but a long time through traffic, Monreale is southwest from Palermo, and is worth the trip whether flying-like-a-crow or driving. The gold mosaic duomo interior will make your jaw drop. The bakery staff in town will make you want to stay at least a week laughing and chatting. The town streets will charm you. Ahh… Go.
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From Wikipedia:
“The Cathedral of Monreale is one of the greatest extant examples of Norman architecture in the world. It was begun in 1174 byWilliam II, and in 1182 the church, dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, was, by a bull of Pope Lucius III, elevated to the rank of a metropolitan cathedral. The church is a national monument of Italy and one of the most important attractions of Sicily.”
From the front, the Duomo doesn’t give you much of a hint of what’s inside…
…but step inside, to the gold mosaic interior, and you’ll pick your jaw up off the floor.
These little mosaic pieces are about 1/4″ to 3/8″ or so across. Imagine the whole interior surface of this church (and others) being covered like this!
One of the several floral bouquets inside was almost a mosaic in itself.
The backside of the Duomo and its monastic building, on a little side street, are richly embellished!
“The archiepiscopal palace and monastic buildings on the south side were of great size and magnificence, and were surrounded by a massive precinct wall, crowned at intervals by twelve towers. This has been mostly rebuilt, and but little now remains except ruins of some of the towers, a great part of the monks’ dormitory and frater, and the splendid cloister, completed about 1200.”
In any city, find a highpoint for the greatest overview. In Italian cities, that often means climbing the narrow stone staircases to the top of the duomo. Some cathedrals have elevators, but the old worn stairs and walls are worth seeing, if you can make the climb.
Looking out over the rooftops, Palermo is in the distance at the shoreline.
