Monreale Cathedral ( it, Cattedrale di Santa Maria Nuova di Monreale; Duomo di Monreale) is a Catholic church in

Monreale Monreale (; ; Sicilian: ''Murriali'') is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Palermo, in Sicily, southern Italy. It is located on the slope of Monte Caputo, overlooking the very fertile valley called ''"La Conca d'oro"'' (the Golde ...

Metropolitan City of Palermo The Metropolitan City of Palermo ( it, Città metropolitana di Palermo; scn, Cità metrupulitana di Palermu) is a metropolitan city in Sicily, Italy. Its capital is the city of Palermo. It replaced the Province of Palermo and comprises the city o ...

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

. One of the greatest existent examples of

Norman architecture The term Norman architecture is used to categorise styles of Romanesque architecture developed by the Normans in the various lands under their dominion or influence in the 11th and 12th centuries. In particular the term is traditionally used fo ...

, it was begun in

1174 Year 1174 ( MCLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar, the 1174th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 174th year of the 2nd millennium, the 74 ...

William II of Sicily William II (December 115311 November 1189), called the Good, was king of Sicily from 1166 to 1189. From surviving sources William's character is indistinct. Lacking in military enterprise, secluded and pleasure-loving, he seldom emerged from his ...

. In 1182 the church, dedicated to the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, was, by a bull of Pope

Lucius III Pope Lucius III (c. 1097 – 25 November 1185), born Ubaldo Allucingoli, reigned from 1 September 1181 to his death in 1185. Born of an aristocratic family of Lucca, prior to being elected pope, he had a long career as a papal diplomat. His pa ...

, elevated to the rank of a metropolitan cathedral as the seat of the diocese of Monreale, which was elevated to the

Archdiocese of Monreale The Italian Catholic Archdiocese of Monreale ( la, Archidioecesis Montis Regalis) is in Sicily. As of 2000 it is no longer a metropolitan see, and is now a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Palermo.Arab-Norman Palermo and the Cathedral Churches of Cefalù and Monreale Arab-Norman Palermo and the Cathedral Churches of Cefalù and Monreale is a series of nine religious and civic structures located on the northern coast of Sicily dating from the era of the Norman Kingdom of Sicily (1130-1194): two palaces, three ch ...

UNESCO World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

. The church is a national monument of Italy and one of the most important attractions of Sicily. Its size is 102 meters (335') long and 40 meters (131') wide.

History

According to a legend,

fell asleep under a

carob tree The carob ( ; ''Ceratonia siliqua'') is a flowering evergreen tree or shrub in the Caesalpinioideae sub-family of the legume family, Fabaceae. It is widely cultivated for its edible fruit pods, and as an ornamental tree in gardens and lands ...

while hunting in the woods near Monreale. The Holy Virgin appeared to him in dream, suggesting him to build a church here. After removing the tree, a treasure was found in its roots, whose golden coins were used to finance the construction. It is more likely that the church was part of a plan of large constructions in competition with the then bishop of Palermo,

Walter Ophamil Walter Ophamil or Offamil ( fl. 1160–1191), italianised as Gualtiero Offamiglio or Offamilio from Latin ''Ophamilius'', was the archdeacon of Cefalù, dean of Agrigento, and archbishop of Palermo (1168–1191), called "''il primo minist ...

, who had ordered the large Cathedral of Palermo. The construction of Monreale, started in 1172, was approved by

Pope Alexander III Pope Alexander III (c. 1100/1105 – 30 August 1181), born Roland ( it, Rolando), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 September 1159 until his death in 1181. A native of Siena, Alexander became pope after a con ...

with a bull on 30 December 1174. Works, including an annexed abbey, were completed only in 1267 and the church consecrated at the presence of

Pope Clement IV Pope Clement IV ( la, Clemens IV; 23 November 1190 – 29 November 1268), born Gui Foucois ( la, Guido Falcodius; french: Guy de Foulques or ') and also known as Guy le Gros ( French for "Guy the Fat"; it, Guido il Grosso), was bishop of Le P ...

. In 1178 Pope Lucius III established the

archdiocese of Monreale The Italian Catholic Archdiocese of Monreale ( la, Archidioecesis Montis Regalis) is in Sicily. As of 2000 it is no longer a metropolitan see, and is now a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Palermo.cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

. The archbishops obtained by the kings of Sicily a wide array of privileges and lands in the whole Italian peninsula. In 1270 Saint Louis IX, King of France, brother of King Charles I of Naples, was buried here. In 1547-1569 a portico was added to the northern side, designed by

Giovanni Domenico Gagini Giovanni may refer to: * Giovanni (name), an Italian male given name and surname * Giovanni (meteorology), a Web interface for users to analyze NASA's gridded data * ''Don Giovanni'', a 1787 opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, based on the legend of ...

and

Fazio Gagini The Gagini or Gaggini were a family of architects and sculptors, originally from Bissone on Lake Lugano. This family founded Sicily's Gagini school, which flourished until the mid-1600s. Notable members One of the most notable members include D ...

, in

Renaissance style Renaissance architecture is the European architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 16th centuries in different regions, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of Ancient Greece, ancient Greek and ...

, covered by a

cross vault A groin vault or groined vault (also sometimes known as a double barrel vault or cross vault) is produced by the intersection at right angles of two barrel vaults. Honour, H. and J. Fleming, (2009) ''A World History of Art''. 7th edn. London: Lau ...

and featuring eleven

round arch An arch is a vertical curved structure that Span (architecture), spans an elevated space and may or may not support the weight above it, or in case of a horizontal arch like an arch dam, the hydrostatic pressure against it. Arches may be sy ...

es supported by

Corinthian column The Corinthian order (Greek: Κορινθιακός ρυθμός, Latin: ''Ordo Corinthius'') is the last developed of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order ...

s. In 1559 most of the internal pavement was added.

Description

The archiepiscopal palace and monastic buildings on the south side were of great size and magnificence, and were surrounded by a massive precinct wall, crowned at intervals by twelve towers. This has been mostly rebuilt, and but little now remains except ruins of some of the towers, a great part of the monks'

dormitory A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm) is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people such as boarding school, high school, college or university s ...

and

frater Frater is the Latin word for brother. *In Roman Catholicism, a monk who is not a priest Frater may also refer to: People Surname * Alexander Frater (1937–2020), New Hebrides travel writer and journalist * Anne Frater, Scottish poet from Baybl ...

, and the splendid

cloister A cloister (from Latin ''claustrum'', "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cathedral or church, commonly against a ...

, completed about 1200. The latter is well preserved, and is one of the finest european cloisters now extant both for size and beauty of detail. It is about 2,200 m², with pointed arches decorated with diaper work, supported on pairs of columns in white

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite. Marble is typically not Foliation (geology), foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the ...

, 216 in all, which were alternately plain and decorated by bands of patterns in gold and colors, made of glass tesserae, arranged either spirally or vertically from end to end of each shaft. The marble capitals are each carved with foliage, biblical scenes and allegories, no two being alike. At one angle, a square pillared projection contains the marble fountain or monks'

lavatorium A lavatorium (plural ''lavatoria''), also anglicisation, anglicised as laver and lavatory, was the communal washing area in a monastery, particularly in medieval abbeys and cathedral cloisters. Monks were required to wash before meals; thus the la ...

. The plan of the church is based on models of Clunian origin from northern France. The facade flanked by two towers. like the

cathedral of Cefalù A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominations ...

, while the large three-apse choir is similar to one of the first three-apse churches.. The basilican nave is wide, with narrow

aisle An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, certain types of buildings, such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, parl ...

s. On each side, monolithic columns of grey oriental granite (except one, which is of

cipolin Cipollino marble ("onion-stone") was a variety of marble used by the ancient Greeks and Romans, whose Latin term for it was ''marmor carystium'' (meaning "marble from Karystos"). It was quarried in several locations on the south-west coast of the ...

marble) support eight pointed arches much stilted. The capitals of these (mainly Corinthian) are also of the classical period. There is no ''

triforium A triforium is an interior gallery, opening onto the tall central space of a building at an upper level. In a church, it opens onto the nave from above the side aisles; it may occur at the level of the clerestory windows, or it may be locate ...

'', but a high

clerestory In architecture, a clerestory ( ; , also clearstory, clearstorey, or overstorey) is a high section of wall that contains windows above eye level. Its purpose is to admit light, fresh air, or both. Historically, ''clerestory'' denoted an upper l ...

with wide two-light windows, with simple tracery like those in the nave-aisles and throughout the church, which give sufficient light. The other half, eastern in two senses, is both wider and higher than the nave. It also is divided into a central space with two aisles, each of the divisions ending at the east with an apse. The roofs throughout are of open woodwork very low in pitch, constructionally plain, but richly decorated with colour, now mostly restored. At the west end of the nave are two projecting towers, with a

narthex The narthex is an architectural element typical of early Christian and Byzantine basilicas and churches consisting of the entrance or lobby area, located at the west end of the nave, opposite the church's main altar. Traditionally the narthex ...

(entrance) between them. A large open atrium, which once existed at the west, is now completely destroyed, having been replaced by a

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...

by Giovanni Domenico and

(1547–1569). The main internal features are the vast (6,500 m²; 70,000 sq. ft.) glass

mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...

s, executed in Byzantine style between the late 12th and the mid-13th centuries by both local and Venetians masters. The tomb of

William I of Sicily William I (1120 or 1121May 7, 1166), called the Bad or the Wicked ( scn, Gugghiermu lu Malu), was the second king of Sicily, ruling from his father's death in 1154 to his own in 1166. He was the fourth son of Roger II and Elvira of Castile. Wi ...

(the founder's father), a porphyry

sarcophagus A sarcophagus (plural sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a box-like funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek ...

contemporary with the church, under a marble pillared canopy, and the founder William II's tomb, erected in 1575, were both shattered by a fire, which in 1811 broke out in the choir, injuring some of the mosaics and destroying all the fine walnut choir-fittings, the organs and most of the choir roof. The tombs were rebuilt, and the whole of the injured part of the church restored a few years after the fire. The present organ, revised in 1967 by Ruffatti, has six manuals and 102 stops. On the north of the choir are the tombs of Margaret of Navarre, wife of William I, and her two sons Roger and Henry, together with an urn containing the viscera of

Saint Louis of France Louis IX (25 April 1214 – 25 August 1270), commonly known as Saint Louis or Louis the Saint, was King of France from 1226 to 1270, and the most illustrious of the Direct Capetians. He was crowned in Reims at the age of 12, following the d ...

, who died in 1270. The pavement of the triple choir, though much restored, is a specimen of marble and porphyry mosaic in ''opus alexandrinum'', with signs of Arab influence in its main lines. The mosaic pavement of the nave was completed in the 16th century, and has disks of porphyry and granite with marble bands intermingled with irregular lines. Two

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

chapels were added in the 17th and 18th centuries, which are shut off from the rest of the church. The bronze doors of the mosaic-decorated portal on the left side was executed by

Barisano da Trani Barisano da Trani was an Italian sculptor of the 12th century. He is best known for his bronze relief door panels on the doors of churches such as Trani Cathedral (1185) and Monreale Cathedral in Monreale (1179). Barisano da Trani also made relief ...

in 1179.

Gallery

File:Monreale BW 2012-10-09 10-12-21.JPG, The cloister File:Monreale Kreuzgang neu.jpg, Cloister File:1172 bis 1176 wurde die Kathedrale von Monreale erbaut. 07.jpg, Apse File:MonrealeCathedral-pjt1.jpg, Apse interior File:6340 Quadratmeter bedecken die Mosaiken in der Kathedrale Santa Maria Nuova in Monreale. 09.jpg, Mosaics in the apse File:6340 Quadratmeter bedecken die Mosaiken in der Kathedrale Santa Maria Nuova in Monreale. 12.jpg, Mosaics in the nave File:6340 Quadratmeter bedecken die Mosaiken in der Kathedrale Santa Maria Nuova in Monreale. 23.jpg, Detail of the mosaic with Adam and Eve and the Tree of Knowledge File:Imperial sarcophagi Monreale48.jpg, Sarcophagi of

William I William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 1087 ...

and

References

Sources

* * * {{Authority control Norman architecture

Churches with Norman architecture 13th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Burial sites of the House of Hauteville