Duomo di Monreale (Monreale Cathedral)

The Duomo di Monreale stands on Piazza del Duomo in the hill town of Monreale, about 8 km from central Palermo in Sicily. William II began the cathedral in the 1170s, and it is one of the great works of Norman Sicily and part of the UNESCO Arab-Norman Palermo and the Cathedral Churches of Cefalu and Monreale listing. The exterior is relatively plain, with bronze doors and a portico, but the interior is covered by some 6,500 square metres of gold-ground mosaics made by Byzantine-trained artists. The cycle runs along the nave and apse in scenes from the Old and New Testaments, from the Creation to the Passion, and above the apse a huge Christ Pantocrator dominates the east end. Visitors usually spend time on the nave panels first, then move to the apse, where the scale becomes clear. Separate tickets or combined tickets provide access to the Romanesque cloister next door, with 228 paired columns carved with varied patterns and capitals, and to the roof terraces, where the view reaches across the Conca d'Oro valley toward Palermo and the sea. A full visit takes 1.5 to 2 hours. Morning is best for mosaics because sunlight enters from the east side and brings out the gold, and queues are shorter before tour buses arrive around late morning. Crowds peak midday, and the cathedral closes for a break in the early afternoon. Admission to the cathedral is about EUR 4, the cloister about EUR 6 and the terraces about EUR 4, with combined tickets available, and EU residents under 18 enter free. The cathedral is a place of worship and visitors should cover shoulders and knees. Buses run from Piazza Indipendenza in Palermo in about 30 to 40 minutes, and a taxi takes about 20 minutes. Photography of the mosaics is best from the centre of the nave with a steady hand and a high ISO, as tripods are generally unwelcome.