Monreale

The famous Dome is one of the masterpieces of Norman art and culture. It was founded by Gugliemo II in 1174, and built in a short time; the façade is preceded by a portal and two towers. The wonderful portal has bronze imposts. Beneath the portal you can see another bronze portal made by Barisano da Trani (1179). Inside, you can admire golden mosaics covering the walls and representing important scenes. On the right side of the cathedral, you find Gugliemo's sarcophagus.

 In fact we have to insert this construction in the middle of a vast historical panoramic in which we find this citadel, for almost five centuries, as one of the political and religious centres in the north of Sicily. But the real environment of Monreale, after a period of Arabic domination, started only in 1174, when, after it had became the seat of an archbishopric, Guglielmo II started the construction of the Duomo and parallel a slow but gradual acquisition of power set, until to deny almost the independence of Palermo.

Nowadays Monreale has in keeping a great artistic and cultural patrimony but moreover we think that it should be a valid alternative, less chaotic, to Palermo for everyone who would like to sojourn in this part of Sicily.