Cathedral of Monreale, Monreale, Italy

The Cathedral of Monreale is one of the greatest existent examples of Norman architecture. The construction of Monreale, started in 1172, was approved by Pope Alexander III with a bull on 30 December 1174. Works, including an annexed abbey, were completed only in 1267 and the church consecrated at the presence of Pope Clement IV. In 1178 Pope Lucius III established the archdiocese of Monreale and the abbey church was elevated to the rank of cathedral. The archbishops obtained by the kings of Sicily a wide array of privileges and lands in the whole Italian peninsula. In 1270 Louis IX, King of France, brother of King Charles I of Naples, was buried here.

In 1547-1569 a portico was added to the northern side, designed by Giovanni Domenico Gagini and Fazio Gagini, in Renaissance style, covered by a cross vault and featuring eleven round arches supported by Corinthian columns. In 1559 most of the internal pavement was added.

The church's plan is a mixture of Eastern Rite and Roman Catholic arrangement. The nave is like an Italian basilica, while the large triple-apsed choir is similar to one of the early three-apsed churches, of which so many examples still exist in Syria and elsewhere in the Middle East. It is like two quite different churches put together endwise.

The main internal features are the vast (6,500 m2) glass mosaics, executed in Byzantine style between the late 12th and the mid-13th centuries by both local and Venetians masters.

Since 2015 it is part of the Arab-Norman Palermo and the Cathedral Churches of Cefalù and Monreale UNESCO Heritage site. The church is a national monument of Italy and one of the most important attractions of Sicily.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

Michael Wilson (9 months ago)
Worth the local bus ride to Monreale a uniquely designed and very special mosaic walls and floors (inside) cathedral. A must go to place if visiting Palermo. Lovely salad lunch in a local cafe too!

Arick Bakken (10 months ago)
Dishonest pricing system soured our visit. The cathedral is very beautiful and historically important. However, when you walk up, the sign implies you need to pay 12 euro to enter but you get access to everything. In fact, this gets you into very lame and uninteresting sections like the left transcript and the museum. You also see the rooftop and cloisters. There aren't any better views from the roof than from the street you just walked up. The cloisters are simply overpriced. You should enter the Cathedral for free and then donate whatever moves you. The 5 euro audio guide is as dull as it gets and wants to give you a full description of every inch. We just had to stop. Our guidebook (Rick Steves) was better and perfectly sufficient. Still worth a visit, just felt taken...by a church.

Jeanette Wellems (10 months ago)
A jewel. Take your time for the whole visit. Get your tickets there. Lunch break from 13-14.15!!!!

Michal Szczurek (10 months ago)
One of the most amazing medieval churches I've ever seen. It's decorative interior and it size makes it probably the most beautiful church in Sicilia. Strongly recommended to visit while doing day trips around Palermo.

Joshua Formentera (11 months ago)
We stayed in Sicily on different Airbnb as we are driving around , we drove by car and tour from Palermo to Monreale. The Duomo Monreale is another gorgeous cathedral on the side of a mountain. I was blown away at how beautiful this place was specially the church of Monreale. Intricate art and finishes are all over the interior. I adore this church what a beautiful art of work of classical antiquity done by the Byzantine artists. Amazing work was done in the past but we see it today how beautiful it is. We bought a ticket including a walking up the top of the church and that was amazing things we've done. A fantastic breathtaking view of the entire of Monreale, the sea and the mountain. Overall, it was another solid monument to visit.

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Historic Site of the week

Trinity Sergius Lavra

The Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius is a world famous spiritual centre of the Russian Orthodox Church and a popular site of pilgrimage and tourism. It is the most important working Russian monastery and a residence of the Patriarch. This religious and military complex represents an epitome of the growth of Russian architecture and contains some of that architecture’s finest expressions. It exerted a profound influence on architecture in Russia and other parts of Eastern Europe.

The Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius, was founded in 1337 by the monk Sergius of Radonezh. Sergius achieved great prestige as the spiritual adviser of Dmitri Donskoi, Great Prince of Moscow, who received his blessing to the battle of Kulikov of 1380. The monastery started as a little wooden church on Makovets Hill, and then developed and grew stronger through the ages.

Over the centuries a unique ensemble of more than 50 buildings and constructions of different dates were established. The whole complex was erected according to the architectural concept of the main church, the Trinity Cathedral (1422), where the relics of St. Sergius may be seen.

In 1476 Pskovian masters built a brick belfry east of the cathedral dedicated to the Descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles. The church combines unique features of early Muscovite and Pskovian architecture. A remarkable feature of this church is a bell tower under its dome without internal interconnection between the belfry and the cathedral itself.

The Cathedral of the Assumption, echoing the Cathedral of the Assumption in the Moscow Kremlin, was erected between 1559 and 1585. The frescoes of the Assumption Cathedral were painted in 1684. At the north-western corner of the Cathedral, on the site of the western porch, in 1780 a vault containing burials of Tsar Boris Godunov and his family was built.

In the 16th century the monastery was surrounded by 6 meters high and 3,5 meters thick defensive walls, which proved their worth during the 16-month siege by Polish-Lithuanian invaders during the Time of Trouble. They were later strengthened and expanded.

After the Upheaval of the 17th century a large-scale building programme was launched. At this time new buildings were erected in the north-western part of the monastery, including infirmaries topped with a tented church dedicated to Saints Zosima and Sawatiy of Solovki (1635-1637). Few such churches are still preserved, so this tented church with a unique tiled roof is an important contribution to the Lavra.

In the late 17th century a number of new buildings in Naryshkin (Moscow) Baroque style were added to the monastery.

Following a devastating fire in 1746, when most of the wooden buildings and structures were destroyed, a major reconstruction campaign was launched, during which the appearance of many of the buildings was changed to a more monumental style. At this time one of the tallest Russian belfries (88 meters high) was built.

In the late 18th century, when many church lands were secularized, the chaotic planning of the settlements and suburbs around the monastery was replaced by a regular layout of the streets and quarters. The town of Sergiev Posad was surrounded by traditional ramparts and walls. In the vicinity of the monastery a number of buildings belonging to it were erected: a stable yard, hotels, a hospice, a poorhouse, as well as guest and merchant houses. Major highways leading to the monastery were straightened and marked by establishing entry squares, the overall urban development being oriented towards the centrepiece - the Ensemble of the Trinity Sergius Lavra.

In 1993, the Trinity Lavra was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

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