A monastery stands alongside both the Cefalù and Monreale cathedrals, since they are entrusted, among the few examples, to the care of monastic orders, Augustinian and Benedictine respectively. The cloisters in these complexes are of a similar design; along the aisles, the arches are supported by twin columns surmounted by capitals, important examples of Romanesque sculpture, in which scenes from the sacred texts are depicted. The Monreale cloister is still intact in its composition, while the one in Cefalù has two wings missing.
