Tag: monreale
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The Palm for Paradise
These images, found in Palermo’s Palatine Chapel (and importantly, also at the Cathedral of Monreale) depict palm trees. Palm trees are symbolic of different things: In Christianity, palm branches are attributed to the “victory of the spirit over the flesh” (Wikipedia); hence why many martyrs are depicted holding palm branches. We also need to consider…
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The Results Of A Dream
The cloister, or in Italian “chiostro,” of Monreale Cathedral always pleases me. Its 228 individually designed and decorated columns offer visitors a sanctuary from the bustle of the city of Palermo, which is about 30 minutes by car to the north. Monreale Cathedral was commissioned by the Norman King William II, “The Good” (1172-1189) in…
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Walk into the Light Vincent
In honor of my friend Vincent Titone, the president/chief-organizer of the New York Sicilian Meet-Up group who was laid to rest today, I post a photo of the apse of his favorite church in Sicily, Monreale Cathedral. Christ Pantocrator, the Savor, dominates the temple and gives his blessing in the Greek style: “I am the…
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Exhale in Monreale
Most people visit William II’s Cathedral at Monreale in the morning–but something to note is how beautiful it is in the evening when the sunlight is majestic on the 228 columns of the cloister. The inlaid lava stone designs (known as intarsias) create mesmerizing archways, while the peacefulness of the early 13th century corridors built…
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Our May Tour, Day 3: Be Mesmerized
Get personal with the amazing mosaics at the Cathedral of Monreale on Day 3 of our May Experience Sicily small-group tour. Built by the Norman King William II (“The Good”) in the late 12th century, this UNESCO site boasts thousands of beautiful and one of a kind tile designs, like the one pictured, that will…
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Conservationists at Work
Conservationists photographed while working in the cloisters of the Cathedral at Monreale. Each of the 228 columns of the cloister are unique, and their restoration requires painstaking detail in order to maintain the integrity of the designs from the early 1200s when the peaceful, square colonnade was constructed.
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Innocent and Majestic
This scene of Original Sin, that is, Adam and Eve with the snake from the Old Testament, is one of dozens of scenes that cover the walls of the Cathedral at Monreale. The Byzantine-style mosaic designs tell Biblical stories without words; however with incredible majesty–using glass, semiprecious stones, and hundreds of gold leaf tiles. Such…
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One of Monreale’s Hundreds
Detail of Byzantine-Arab-Norman-style mosaic decoration at the Cathedral of Monreale, outside of Palermo; Created by artisans in the late 1100s.
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A Tranquil Fountain
At one corner of the Cloister of the Cathedral of Monreale, there is a bubbling fountain surrounded by a few of the 228 unique columns that make up this tranquil, not-to-be-missed site. Built around 1200 AD, William II commissioned artisans from Sicily as well as those from Venice in order to create a unique sanctuary–both…