Monreale Cathedral
Monreale Cathedral is a Catholic cathedral in the town of Monreale, in the hills above Palermo in Sicily. Begun around 1174 by the Norman king William II, it is dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and stands as one of the greatest surviving examples of Norman architecture, fusing Latin, Byzantine and Islamic artistic traditions.
The cathedral's glory is its interior, almost entirely sheathed in shimmering gold-ground mosaics covering roughly six thousand square meters, depicting an extensive cycle of biblical scenes dominated by an immense image of Christ Pantocrator in the apse. Adjoining the church is a celebrated Romanesque cloister, its arcades supported by paired columns with richly varied carved and inlaid capitals, a masterpiece of medieval sculpture.
Since 2015 the cathedral has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Arab-Norman Palermo and the cathedral churches of Cefalu and Monreale. Its extraordinary mosaics and the testimony they offer to the multicultural Norman kingdom of Sicily make it one of the most significant medieval monuments in the Mediterranean.
- Location
- 38.0819, 13.2921
- Local time
- 00:34 (Europe/Rome)
🕘 Visiting hours
| Mon–Sat | 09:00–12:45 |
| Sun | 14:30–16:15 |
Also reopens afternoons ~14:30-16:15 Mon-Sat; closed Sunday mornings for Mass. Hours vary seasonally.
✨ Saints & blessed venerated here
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Saint Castrensis Saint
Patron of Monreale; his relics were placed by William II beneath the high altar, with a dedicated chapel in the right aisle
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Saint Peter Saint
Enthroned in the apse mosaics with scenes from his life on the adjoining walls
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Saint Paul Saint
Enthroned in the apse mosaics alongside Saint Peter
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Saint Cassius Saint
South-Italian bishop-martyr depicted in three scenes on the west wall
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Saint Castus Saint
Bishop-martyr depicted with Castrensis and Cassius on the west wall mosaics
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Saint Thomas Becket Saint
Among the earliest images of him anywhere, depicted in the apse mosaics
The candle wall
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00:34
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