Monreale Cathedral
the Context 1

Beyond the harmony of proportions

The balanced system of luxuriant Islamic gardens in the plain of Palermo, with the advent of the Norman kingdom in Sicily , maintained its splendour thanks to the presence of Arab craftsmen and architects, to whom the sovereigns entrusted the creation of new luxuriant areas as a backdrop for their residences.A heritage not only aimed at visual gratification, due to the variety of colours of the tree species, such as fruit, that surrounded the avenues and pavilions, but also characterised by peaceful oases in which time moves with gentle flow of water that filled fish ponds, fountains and basins.
Just as the profile of the mountains encircled the Conca d’Oro, wrapping around it like a necklace, the Muslim pilgrim Ibn Jubayr also used the metaphor of the necklace wrapped around the neck during a visit to Palermo between December 1184 and January 1185, referring to the layout of the extra-moenia buildings . However, the image of Sicily “as an earthly paradise”, in addition to the harmony that could be perceived when observing the landscape, was well suited to the peaceful social balance that had been established between sovereign and subjects during the reign of William II , also mentioned by Dante Alighieri in the 20th canto of Paradise .During the Norman period, a synthesis was achieved between the Arab-derived structure of the Palatial Riyadh and the circumscribed universe of the hortus conclusus in the monastic cloister. The architecture interacts over the centuries, as if to reinterpret the inner courtyard of the Roman domus , with a fresh look, in a way that anticipated the patios of Spanish homes.

Characteristics of religious architecture in the romanesque period

A cloister of accentuated stylistic variety

The original design

A tree full of life

The Bible carved in stone

The balance between architecture and light

Interior decorations

Thirteenth-century iconography decorates the nave’s wooden ceiling, designed with new solutions

Palermo: the happiest city

Porphyry sarcophagi: royalty and power

The chystro: a place between earth and sky

The Kings’ Cathedrals

The chapel of St. Benedict

The side aisles

The Great Presbytery: a unique space for the cathedral

The Cathedral over the centuries

The transformations of the hall through the centuries

Transformations over the centuries

A mixture of styles pervades the floor decorations

The Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene

Roger II of hauteville: a sovereign protected by God

A new Cathedral

Squaring the circle

Layers of different cultures decorate the external apses

Artistic elements in Peter’s ship

The Virgin Hodegetria

The marble portal: an intimate dialogue between complex ornamental aspects and formal structure

The links between the hauteville family and the monastic orders in Sicily

Biblical themes enlivened by the dazzling light of the stained – glass windows overlooking the naves

From the Mosque to the Cathedral

The chorus: beating heart of the cathedral

The longest aisle

Ecclesia munita

Roger II’s strategic design

The architectural modifications ti the cathedral building after the death of Roger II and the transformations of the cloister

The stone bible

A controversial interpretation

A compositional design that combines nordic examples with new artistic languages, over the centuries

The cemetery of kings

The southern portico

A palimpsest of history

The dialogue between the architectures of the monumental complex

Two initially similar towers, varied over time

A remarkable ceiling

Mosaic decoration

Survey of the royal tombs

A polysemy of high-level artistic forms and content

The Chapel of the Kings

The liturgical spaces of the protesis and the diaconicon

Worship services

The medieval city amidst monasticism and feudal aristocracy

Tempus fugit: a strategic project implemented in a short period of time

A space between the visible and the invisible

The chapel of the crucifix: an artistic casket based on a previous model

The beginning of the construction site

The senses tell Context 1

A Northern population

From the main gate to the aisles: an invitation to a journey of faith

The king’s mark

The Cefalù cathedral: a construction yard undergoing a change between a surge of faith and control over the territory

The chapel of san Castrense: an important renaissance work

The Gualtiero Cathedral

The lost chapel

The decorated facade

The towers facing the facade used as bell towers

Norman religious architecture with islamic influences in Sicily

The Great Restoration

The paradisiacal “Conca d’oro” that embraces Palermo: a name with countless faces through time

The construction of Monreale Cathedral: between myth and history

Under the crosses of the Bema

The mosaics of the apses

A chapel by an unknown designer based on repeated symmetries

The side Portico: a combination of elegance and lightness of form

Gardens and architecture as a backdrop to the city of Palermo

Cefalù: settlement evidence through time

The towers and the western facade

The plasticism of the main portico and Bonanno Pisano’s Monumental Bronze Door

Beyond the harmony of proportions

The cultural substrate through time

The mosaics of the presbytery

The rediscovered chapel

The columns of the nave: the meticulous study of the overall order

The area of the Sanctuary