Monreale Things to Do

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“The exterior of the apse is the apogee of Norman decoration.”
~ Eyewitness Travel: Sicily


When we arrived in Monreale, the cathedral was closed for several hours after lunch. This gave us some time to walk around the outside of the cathedral and get a good look at the art on building’s exterior. On first glance, the outside of the cathedral is rather plain looking – and with no indication of the exquisite interior within this plain exterior.

While the entrance to the cathedral is on the northern side, the west façade contains a fantastic portal with bronze doors by Bonnano of Pisa, built in the late 1100s. They are protected from the elements by a 18th century porch. The façade is flanked by two towers, one complete and the other never finished and much lower.

We had parked near the east side of the cathedral and we drawn to the Arab decorations on the three apses, which are a combination of lava and tufa (limestone) in arches with various geometric motifs. It is well worth taking the time to walk around the corner shops to get to the exterior of the apse to see this. Other than the Palermo cathedral, I had not seen this type of exterior design before.

A walk in Belevedere park, accessible through the corner archway in the piazza on the west side of the cathedral can give you a view of the cloister exterior and the partial remains of the original monastery. A climb up the tower from within the cathedral will also give you an up close view of some of the geometric patterns and artistic details of the exterior.

Having seen the outside of this Norman-Arab cathedral, it was time for the doors to open and for us to explore the interior.

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The colorful mosaics with golden tesserae background cover an astounding 6400 meters square (68,889 square feet). It would appear that no parts of the walls were left untouched by the artisans who completed this project in 1182, a remarkable feat given the building of the cathedral began just eight years prior. It is unclear whether the artists were Greek or locals that were trained by Byzantine artists, but what is clear is that their handiwork is superb. There are more than 130 individual scenes portrayed in the mosaic cycle featuring tales from both the Old and New Testaments.

Beginning with the central apse, one cannot miss the massive Christ Pantocrator (“Ruler of All”) at the top. This mosaic portrait alone is a huge 13 x 7 meters (42 x 22 feet). Below Christ are two tiers of mosaics with an enthroned Mary with Child directly below Christ flanked by angels, saints, and apostles. Both male and female saints are depicted in the iconic mosaics. Interesting to note is the picture of St. Thomas Becket, who had only recently been named a saint after William II’s father-in-law, England’s Henry II, took responsibility for his murder only ten years prior to the mosaic. St. Thomas can be seen in the central apse bottom row, second saint to the right of the east window.

Around the nave are double-tiered scenes from Biblical stories, including Noah and the ark (shown in one of my photos). The aisles have mosaics depicting the ministry of Christ. In the other two apses are mosaics of saints Peter and Paul. There are also scenes of William II receiving the crown from Christ and his offering the new cathedral to Mary.

The floor is equally beautiful with mosaic tiles; the nave dates to 1559 but the floor in the transepts is original from the 12th century.

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We came to Monreale knowing that we would be climbing the tower – it is what we do (Hubby just has a thing about climbing things and I typically join in the ‘fun’). So after we had seen the interior of the cathedral, we headed towards the back of the nave where we paid the man at the table €3 each to make the climb.

We’ve climbed many church towers and steeples; by comparison, this climb was not difficult and there were not too many steps. But the hallways and staircases did get very narrow and dark – so this is not for the claustrophobic ones. The narrowness didn’t pose a problem since it was a slow day tourist wise; however, at busier times, I cannot imagine how it works with people coming and going in those narrow passages.

After the initial climb, you are brought out to an open walkway that gives you a really good view of the cloisters. Since the cloisters were closed the day we were there, this would be our only opportunity to view them, so we took our time. My zoom lens gave me a chance to see some of the capitals, columns and carvings in more detail.

We continued on our climb where we were treated to close ups of the apse exterior decorations – a real treat to see this artwork so close. At the end of the climb, we found ourselves at the top of the tower with a high fence. There was just one final climb – a couple steps to the very top of the cupola for a photo-op of Hubby.

After having our fill of the spectacular view from the top, it was time to head down the steps and narrow passages. Thankfully, we didn’t run into people until we were back at the cloisters, which was a much wider area.

As I mentioned, the climb isn’t too bad and it wouldn’t be difficult for children to do. It has enough twists and turns and variations to keep them entertained and enough fencing and walls to keep Mom and Dad feeling secure.

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We were unable to get into the cloisters on the day we visited since it was a Monday afternoon and they were only open in the mornings on Mondays. It was a disappointment, but I was able to at least look at them from a distance while on the tower climb. From this vantage point, I could see the majority of the 228 double columns with Arab arches that are all different in their carvings, decorations of reliefs and mosaics, and elaborate Romanesque capitals. This artwork dates back to the original building of the monastery and cathedral in the 12th century. It is believed to be the work of just five master craftsmen, most likely assisted by apprentices.

Also of note in the cloister is the fountain in the design of a palm tree located in a small covered enclosure. It was here that the monks would wash their hands prior to entering the refectory for meals.
While I was not able to go into the cloisters for a close-up, I highly recommend VTer toonsarah’s cloister tip from her trip to Monreale. Her photos and wonderful descriptions will give you an idea of what a visit to the cloisters is like.

The cloister is open Tuesday – Saturday, 0900-1830 and Mondays/Sundays from 0900-1300. There is an admission fee to enter the cloister (separate from the tower climb fee).

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While waiting for the cathedral to reopen, we were exploring the outside of the cathedral grounds and happened upon this park that gave us some wonderful views of Palermo and the urban sprawl between the city and Monreale. It was a peaceful place, full of interesting trees and we had the park almost all to ourselves, except for two guys doing some sort of fun photo shoot and the couple that apparently wanted to be alone on the bench behind the bush. The walls of the park are made up of the remains of the original monastery and the Town Hall, which was part of the former Norman royal palace.

The park can be found by walking through the open archway in the corner of the piazza on the west side of the cathedral. As you enter this area, there is a wide open space surrounded by buildings (including WCs/bathrooms/toilets). Continue straight ahead through the second archway and you will find yourself in the Belvedere. It is a good place to relax, have a picnic, or let those little ones get out some energy.

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In the Piazza Vittorio Emanuele located beside the entrance to the cathedral is an interesting Triton fountain. The fountain was made by Mario Rutelli. I found it made an interesting contrast to the old cathedral behind it and didn’t quite fit into the scheme of the area. I might not have noticed it otherwise, but we were waiting for the cathedral to open and took a seat on one of the benches that surrounds the fountain. The fountain was made by Mario Rutelli, a well known Palermo sculptor who has made a number of works on display around Italy (and sadly, many of his works no long exist).

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After you have seen the cathedral in Palermo and its elaborate outside you will probably be not too impressed by Monreale Dome, but wait to get inside!
The famous golden mosaic are all over the place and give to the place a majestic feeling.

Be sure to check the timetable for visits:
weekdays: 8:30 to 12:45 and from 14:30 to 17:00
public holidays: from 8:00 to 10:00 and from 14:30 to 17:30
During the celebrations is not allowed to visit.

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Before or after your visit to the Cathedral do not leave out this wonderful place!
The peaceful and quiet cloister will astonish and amaze you with hundreds of white columns, some are adorned with mosaics, other has incredible works of carving.
The entrance is on the right side of the Dome, in 2011 it was 6 Euros and it was totally worth it.