In the richest repertoire of Sicilian Romanesque sculpture, genre scenes or scenes from daily life also recur. In the north-east corner of the cloister, we can see the cycle of the months of theyear with the representation of work scenes. The “cycles of the months” illustrate the unbreakable link between work and the seasons and how people’s lives changed with their arrival. Through this original iconography, we discover the importance of manual work, a redeeming and ennobling activity, and the slow passing of time. Everything changed shape, became new, habits relating both to food and lifestyle were broken. In Monreale, they are arranged in strict succession: the Winter months to the South, the Spring months to the East, the Summer months to the North, and the Autumn months to the West. In particular, January is an old man warming the fire; February a freshly pruned tree; March a musician; April the picking of flowers; May a horse grazing; June the provision of fruit; July the mowing of grain; August the preparation of the barrel; September the pressing of grapes; October the planting of seeds; November the gathering of acorns; December the killing of the pig. In the upper part, an engraving in Latin displays and indicates the month represented.
