Monreale: the UNESCO Cathedral That Outshines Palermo

All products featured on Dolcevia are independently selected by our editors. However, we may receive compensation from retailers and/or from purchases of products through these links.

Eight kilometres above Palermo, on the slopes of Monte Caputo, sits one of the most underestimated buildings in Italy. The cathedral of Monreale is not underestimated by historians, who know perfectly well what it is, but by the average visitor who allots it a quick morning and leaves before lunch. That is a mistake. The mosaics alone take over an hour to absorb properly. The cloister could occupy another. And the view over Palermo and the Bay of Sicily from the upper terrace on a clear day tends to stop people in their tracks regardless of how much they have already seen that day.

Find great hotels nearby

Browse hotels on the map and see which ones are perfectly located for your trip.

View hotels

At a glance: Monreale lies about 8 km from central Palermo, about 30 minutes by taxi or 45 by bus (regular). I did walk the distance - which took about an hour and a half. The cathedral and Benedictine cloister are part of the Arab-Norman UNESCO World Heritage ensemble designated in 2015. Absolutely allow a minimum of two hours; half a day is better. Avoid August midday if you want any sense of the space. Buy tickets online in advance.

The cathedral and cloister of Monreale are part of the broader Arab-Norman heritage in the province of Palermo, an ensemble of nine monuments added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2015. The group includes the cathedral of Cefalù and several monuments in Palermo itself, including the Palazzo dei Normanni. Summer crowds do Monreale no favours. Come in spring or autumn if you can.  If you are spending more than a few days in Palermo and have any flexibility, a weekday morning in April, May, or October is the visit to aim for. That said, the cathedral is remarkable enough that even a crowded August afternoon is worth the effort. Buy tickets online to skip the queues at the door.

A brief history

The Duomo di Santa Maria Nuova and its Benedictine cloister are two of the nine monuments that survive from Norman Sicily - a concentrated burst of building that reshaped the island between the 11th and 12th centuries. The site has older roots: during the Arab occupation of Palermo, the city's bishop retreated to a small hillside church outside the capital, in a settlement the Arabs called Aghia Kiriaki. The name Monreale came later. When the Normans retook Palermo in 1072 the cathedral there was restored to Christian use, and Monreale slipped back into obscurity - until King William II chose this hillside for his great cathedral. That decision changed everything.

The settlement on Monte Caputo dates to the 13th century, growing up around the Norman kings who used the area as a hunting retreat. Trade and population followed the court, as they tend to. The palace they used still stands directly to the left of the cathedral, now serving as the town hall. William II also commissioned the large Benedictine monastery alongside the church, and Monreale eventually became the seat of the Archbishop of Sicily - exercising considerable influence over the rest of the island from this hilltop.

One historical footnote worth keeping: in the 19th century, Monreale was one of the few places in Italy where marriages could be performed without parental consent. Eloping couples made the journey from across the country. It caused considerable scandal at the time and is now almost entirely forgotten.

What to see in Monreale

The exterior of the Duomo gives little away. Inside, almost every surface is covered in mosaic - intense colour on a gold ground that seems to generate its own light. The tesserae are arranged in horizontal and vertical bands; in sections of the choir, five layers are stacked on top of one another. It takes the eyes some time to adjust, and longer still to take it all in.

The cloister is to the right of the cathedral, accessed via a separate entrance. The square arcade - 47 metres per side, 26 arches to each face - is supported by pairs of columns that are individually carved: no two identical. Arabesque geometric patterns, figurative capitals, twisted shafts inlaid with coloured stone. The variety is not decorative whim but a record of the different craftsmen working the site simultaneously. Of the 109 capitals, most carry human and animal figures; others are purely botanical, a direct Arab influence. It is worth spending more time here than most visitors allow.

The gold mosaics

The mosaics date from the 12th century and rank among the most significant - and most expensive - works of medieval art anywhere in the world. The programme moves through the Old and New Testaments, with particular attention to the lives of Saints Peter and Paul. Two panels repay close looking: King William II presenting the church to the Virgin, and the construction of the Tower of Babel - both rendered with an immediacy that makes the gold ground feel less like decoration than atmosphere.

The bronze doors on the two portals are the work of Bonanno Pisano and Barisano da Trani, brought in for the most prestigious commission in Norman Sicily. The mosaic work itself was carried out by Byzantine, Venetian, and Sicilian craftsmen working together - the sheer quantity of tesserae placed by hand onto that gold ground is, when you stop to think about it, barely imaginable.  There is in fact so much gold, it would impress even our president number 47.

The mosaics tend to draw all the attention, which means everything else risks going unnoticed. A good guide will slow you down. The inlaid floor alone would be the highlight of most churches. So would the majestic granite columns, the 18th-century silver high altar, the finely worked wooden choir stalls, the royal tombs of William I and William II. In the right apse, a 15th-century statue of the Madonna del Popolo; near the main entrance, the Madonna Bruna, a panel painting by an unknown 13th-century artist, recently moved to where more people might actually see it. In a smaller church, any one of these would be the centrepiece. Here they are details.

After the interior, a door at the end of the right aisle leads to the north tower staircase. Three flights up, through narrow corridors, you reach the rooftop terrace - the abbey complex below, the cloister laid out in perfect geometry, the mountains on the horizon. Worth the climb.

Getting there from Palermo

Monreale is about 8km from central Palermo, a 30-minute taxi ride from Piazza Indipendenza. The fare is actually fixed. If others are waiting at the rank, sharing is perfectly normal - Sicilians do it without a second thought. 

By public transport, both the AST bus (Azienda Siciliana Trasporti) and bus 389 (AMAT) leave from Piazza Indipendenza behind the Palazzo dei Normanni. The AST bus stops at Piazza C. Inghilleri on Corso P. Novelli, about 200 metres from the cathedral; bus 389 goes directly to Piazza Vittorio Emanuele at the Duomo itself.

If you are going by taxi or walking (which is possible however not advisable in mid summer), consider a stop at the Catacombe dei Cappuccini on the way. Roughly halfway between Palermo and Monreale, the Capuchin Catacombs hold around 8,000 preserved bodies, still dressed in their original clothing, interred from the 16th century onward. Genuinely unusual, and not something you forget - though not, it should be said, for everyone.

Where to sleep in Monreale

Masseria Pernice

A beautiful masseria in a tranquil setting, featuring a magnificent garden and a large swimming pool in the Jato Valley, surrounded by vineyards

Palazzo Liberty

A B&B in the centre of Monreale, a short walk from the cathedral, with well-renovated rooms, breakfast included, a hot tub, and a terrace. Several restaurants within easy reach.

Opera Boutique Rooms

A well-located boutique hotel 300 metres from the cathedral, with a restaurant, private parking, bar, sauna, and common lounge. Room service, free wifi throughout, family rooms available.

Where to eat in Monreale

Bricco e Bacco

A restaurant for committed meat eaters: the steaks are exceptional and priced by weight, which makes it the place to try a proper Florentine-style cut if you missed it in Tuscany. Warm, straightforward interior right in the historic centre. The name translates loosely as "the pot and the kettle." Vegetarians will need to look elsewhere.

Pizzeria Art Libri Totó

The interior is a deliberately chaotic accumulation of books, which makes it either charming or maddening depending on your tolerance for clutter. The pizzas are excellent, with original names and genuinely creative topping combinations. Good options for vegetarians. Terrace seating available outside.