The apsidal dome is shaped like a semi-dome and is built on top of the tambour or supporting spandrels. This hemispherical space is ideal for fresco or mosaic decorations. In Monreale, as well as in Cefalù, there is a mosaic depicting Christ Pantocrator in the apsidal dome.</a...

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 ...

The fountain in the cloister, known as the King's Fountain, has a round basin containing a carved column decorated with geometric motifs. The shaft was crowned by a sort of sphere with precious stone sculptures depicting men and women intent on dancing and playing. Above, twelve lion's mouths spout ...

The column is a vertically sloping, load-bearing architectural element and is usually composed of the base, the shaft and the capital. The latter, positioned as the terminal of the column, is the space for decorations. Pairings consist of two equal sized columns placed side by side....

The column is a vertically sloping, load-bearing architectural element and is usually composed of the base, the shaft and the capital. The latter, positioned as the terminal of the column, is the space for decorations. Pairings consist of two equal sized columns placed side by side. ...

The Norman kingdom became a melting pot of different worlds, languages and religions, not only Western Latin but also Eastern Byzantine and Islamic Arabic. The rulers succeeded in creating a dialogue between the people of the Mediterranean, based on peaceful coexistence, cooperation and the mixing o...

Byzantine art, which was developed from the 4th to the 16th century A.D., is characterised by a style that takes Hellenistic-Roman art and enriches it with oriental stylistic elements, typical of Asia Minor. If architecture has majestic and solemn churches, usually in the shape of a Greek cross, fig...

The cloister, from the Latin claustrum, meaning enclosed place, is the essential inner courtyard of a monastery and a space of disengagement between the various environments of communal life. It appeared in the 5th century AD. In the Middle Ages, it was built alongside the Cathedrals, if they were c...

The cloister, from the Latin claustrum, meaning enclosed place, is the essential inner courtyard of a monastery and a space of disengagement between the various environments of communal life. It appeared in the 5th century AD. In the Middle Ages, it was built alongside the Cathedrals, if they were c...

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 t...