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Monreale (; ; Sicilian: Murriali"Monreale" is a contraction of monte-reale, "royal mountain", so-called from a palace built here by Roger I of Sicily) is a town and comune in the Metropolitan City of Palermo, Sicily, Southern Italy. It is located 310 meters (1017.06 ft) above the sea level on the slope of Mount Caputo, a small promontory overlooking the valley of Palermo, from which it is approximately 7 km (4 miles) to the south.
The town developed on a site used by the Normans kings for hunting. They built a royal palace there, hence the name Mons Regalis. The city gained great importance when king William II of Sicily built Monreale Cathedral with the adjoining Benedictines monastery. In 1183, it became the seat of the archbishop.
Monreale forms its own archdiocese. Its cathedral is one of several buildings named in a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a group of nine inscribed as Arab-Norman Palermo and the Cathedral Churches of Cefalù and Monreale.
Monreale was a small village for a long time. When the Italo-Normans Kings of Sicily chose the area as their hunting resort, more people and commerce came to the area after the royalty built a palace (probably identifiable with the modern town hall).
Under King William II, a large monastery of coming from Cava de' Tirreni, with its church, was founded and provided with large assets. The new construction also had an important defensive function. Monreale was the seat of the metropolitan archbishop of Sicily, which from then on exerted a significant influence over Sicily.
In the 19th century, underage marriages, or those performed without the blessing of the bride's parents, were known as "the marriages of Monreale", according to Eliza Lynn Linton. These referred to marriages performed in remote places, where the law was less observed. (see Gretna Green).
The church is a national monument of Italy and one of the most important attractions of Sicily. Its size is 102 metres long and 47 meters wide. The façade is characterized by two large towers (one partially destroyed by lightning in 1807) and a portal with Romanesque bronze doors decorated by Bonanno Pisano. The interior is on the Latin cross plan, divided by ogival arcades, and features fresco cycles executed during the reigns of William II and Tancred of Sicily (c. 1194). The cloister has 228 small columns, each with different decorations influenced by Provençal, Burgundian, Arab and Salerno medieval art.
Main sights
The Cathedral
The cathedral of Monreale is one of the greatest extant examples of Norman architecture. It was begun in 1174 by William II and completed four years later. In 1182 the church, dedicated to the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, was, by a bull of Pope Lucius III, elevated to the rank of a metropolitan cathedral.
Other sights
International relations
Monreale is twinned with:
Notable people
See also
External links
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