Cathedral of Monreale

Cathedral of Monreale

There are numerous sources that speak of the complex of the Cathedral of Monreale, now a Unesco World Heritage Site..

The following notes have no other claim than to communicate impressions, stimulate curiosity, provoke exchanges...

Entering the cathedral, the visitor is as if sucked into a vortex of moving elements. For some, the effect is that of a waterfall that seems to fall on him and take his breath away. Twice in the last 10 years, in order to guide the public to the discovery of the monument, it happened that a client felt sick enough to have to leave the temple.

A cathedral, therefore, that provokes an immediate reaction. And this is precisely my first point, this strength in first minute communication, reinforced then by the analysis in detail, reserved more for professionals, for those like me who have the privilege to relate often with such wonders.

Jean Paul Barreaud | Cathedral of Monreale

It is almost impossible to detach the attention of the mosaics to the point that only with time can it be directed to other aspects of the monument. The study then leads to surprises, mysteries and pleasures of knowledge...

See, for example, in our photo gallery below, the stylobates of the columns dividing the aisles. They present a singular diversity that pushes the enthusiast to a research.

Why?

Then the study leads to the intuition, for example, that the first column on the right of the main nave, that of cipollino marble, does not occupy today the original position of the Middle Ages. From mystery to mystery, so one finds oneself drawn towards the reconstruction of the environment in the various eras, assembling and disassembling the modifications. And what is revealed to him at this point is simply astounding.

All this would perhaps make little sense if it were not the Cathedral of Monreale marked by the personality of William II Altavilla, the talent of the workers and the elite at the end of the 12th century, with reference to both secular and religious powers.

Visible messages of a political nature, although sincerely inspired by a vibrant act of faith, cross touching references common to the three monotheisms. As in the repetition of the eight-pointed star, a symbolism very much present in Arab-Norman monuments. Never as in Monreale, however, has its allegorical dimension been staged with such munificence (see photo).

There are numerous sources that speak of the complex of the Cathedral of Monreale, now a Unesco World Heritage Site..

The following notes have no other claim than to communicate impressions, stimulate curiosity, provoke exchanges...

Entering the cathedral, the visitor is as if sucked into a vortex of moving elements. For some, the effect is that of a waterfall that seems to fall on him and take his breath away. Twice in the last 10 years, in order to guide the public to the discovery of the monument, it happened that a client felt sick enough to have to leave the temple.

A cathedral, therefore, that provokes an immediate reaction. And this is precisely my first point, this strength in first minute communication, reinforced then by the analysis in detail, reserved more for professionals, for those like me who have the privilege to relate often with such wonders.

It is almost impossible to detach the attention of the mosaics to the point that only with time can it be directed to other aspects of the monument. The study then leads to surprises, mysteries and pleasures of knowledge...

See, for example, in our photo gallery below, the stylobates of the columns dividing the aisles. They present a singular diversity that pushes the enthusiast to a research.

Why?

Then the study leads to the intuition, for example, that the first column on the right of the main nave, that of cipollino marble, does not occupy today the original position of the Middle Ages. From mystery to mystery, so one finds oneself drawn towards the reconstruction of the environment in the various eras, assembling and disassembling the modifications. And what is revealed to him at this point is simply astounding.

All this would perhaps make little sense if it were not the Cathedral of Monreale marked by the personality of William II Altavilla, the talent of the workers and the elite at the end of the 12th century, with reference to both secular and religious powers.

Visible messages of a political nature, although sincerely inspired by a vibrant act of faith, cross touching references common to the three monotheisms. As in the repetition of the eight-pointed star, a symbolism very much present in Arab-Norman monuments. Never as in Monreale, however, has its allegorical dimension been staged with such munificence (see photo).

There are numerous sources that speak of the complex of the Cathedral of Monreale, now a Unesco World Heritage Site..

The following notes have no other claim than to communicate impressions, stimulate curiosity, provoke exchanges...

Entering the cathedral, the visitor is as if sucked into a vortex of moving elements. For some, the effect is that of a waterfall that seems to fall on him and take his breath away. Twice in the last 10 years, in order to guide the public to the discovery of the monument, it happened that a client felt sick enough to have to leave the temple.

A cathedral, therefore, that provokes an immediate reaction. And this is precisely my first point, this strength in first minute communication, reinforced then by the analysis in detail, reserved more for professionals, for those like me who have the privilege to relate often with such wonders.

It is almost impossible to detach the attention of the mosaics to the point that only with time can it be directed to other aspects of the monument. The study then leads to surprises, mysteries and pleasures of knowledge...

See, for example, in our photo gallery below, the stylobates of the columns dividing the aisles. They present a singular diversity that pushes the enthusiast to a research.

Why?

Then the study leads to the intuition, for example, that the first column on the right of the main nave, that of cipollino marble, does not occupy today the original position of the Middle Ages. From mystery to mystery, so one finds oneself drawn towards the reconstruction of the environment in the various eras, assembling and disassembling the modifications. And what is revealed to him at this point is simply astounding.

All this would perhaps make little sense if it were not the Cathedral of Monreale marked by the personality of William II Altavilla, the talent of the workers and the elite at the end of the 12th century, with reference to both secular and religious powers.

Visible messages of a political nature, although sincerely inspired by a vibrant act of faith, cross touching references common to the three monotheisms. As in the repetition of the eight-pointed star, a symbolism very much present in Arab-Norman monuments. Never as in Monreale, however, has its allegorical dimension been staged with such munificence (see photo).