Island Hopping 2024: Rome, Monreal, Fly to Rome

Wednesday May 1:  Today Sandy and I have a plane to catch, but since it doesn’t take off until 7:00PM, we had some time to site-see on our way to the Palermo Airport.  About halfway between the winery and the airport is the grand cathedral of Monreale, so off we went. 

The Apses of the Church

Triton Fountain in front of the cathedral

The story of the Monreale Cathedral is a soap opera-like tale as tangled as a plate of spaghetti!  Twelfth century Sicily is where two architectural egos clashed like bumper chariots in a Roman circus. The Norman king of Sicily was the flamboyant William II, with a penchant for excess. Walter was a very independent advisor to William II, and at the same time his rival.  The seat of Walter’s power was Palermo and he had the support of the nobles.  William ruled from Monreale and was backed by the Pope.  Now the battle of the Cathedrals began.  William, with his royal decree in hand, unveils his grand plans for Monreale's cathedral – a dazzling display of opulence and hubris, and in his pocket a newly minted Bishopric ordained by the Pope. But wait, Walter storms onto the scene like a runaway chariot, proclaiming, "Not so fast, Your Majesty! Palermo deserves a cathedral fit for the gods, too!"  And, Palermo is already a bishopric, do we really need two Bishops only six miles apart!  And thus, the rivalry was born, with each  amazingly large ego vying to outdo the other in a game of ecclesiastical one-upmanship. Just about all agree that William II won the construction contest.  As for the Monreale Cathedral? Well, let's just say it's the architectural equivalent of a mic drop – a glittering gem in Sicily's crown, and a testament to the age-old adage: when in doubt, build bigger!  Monreale got its bishop and its cathedral.  And, William II reaffirmed that it is good to be king.

Gold inlaid depictions of bible stories.  These kind of read like a comic strip as you follow the theme clockwise around the Basilica.  This scene is where God created woman.

Then came the damn snake (correct use of the word damn).  The scenes went on and on with the story of Genesis and the Life of Jesus.

A mixture of many cultural styles

What looks to be gold is gold

Approximately two tons gold here

The Basilica of this cathedral is 335 feet long and 130 feet wide.  It is absolutely slathered with over 68,000 square feet of golden mosaics.  It is estimated that the cathedral’s walls hold about two tons of gold.  The building and its interior is a very Sicilian blend of Classical, Byzantine, Arab and Norman craftsmanship. 

The cloisters for the Benedictine Monks

The courtyard of the cloister

Every one of these romanesque columns have different capitals

The fountain area of the cloister

Note that some of the gold inlays have been "mined" out of the columns

No two capitals are the same

From Monreale we drove onto the Palermo Airport and took our relatively short flight to Rome.  

This is the area that we covered while on Sicily

Our last view of the island

A short hop to Rome