The string-course cornice, which began to appear in the medieval period, has a purely decorative function. For this reason, the decoration may match that of the building, appearing with mouldings or architectural orders, or be in stark contrast to the exterior, thus creating more dynamic elements. T...

The pointed arch, also known as the ogival arch, is also often used in windows. It was mostly used in medieval architecture, especially Romanesque and Gothic. Architecturally, the windows are slender and narrow, greatly relieved of the weight of the thrusts, ending in a raised pointed arch. ...

Of the two towers, which are large, fortified and symmetrical, but of different height and shape, the one on the right serves as the bell tower, while the one on the left is unfinished in the first order. The right-hand tower, in particular, with four indented storeys and single lancet windows, had ...

Rustic work is a type of architectural decoration found in many Medieval and Renaissance buildings, characterised by the use of material deliberately left in its natural state, i.e. unfinished and polished. Typical of rustic work is the rustication already used in ancient times even by the Romans. I...

On November 18, 1186, at the age of only 36, William II died. His premature death greatly reduced the political, cultural and religious projects he had planned for Monreale. The Cathedral and the abbey suffered a period of neglect, caused mainly by the sudden rise of the Hohenstaufen family after th...

Bonanno Pisano, born in Pisa and active in the second half of the 12th century, worked both in the Tuscan city and in Monreale. His artistic activity is commemorated by the inscription on Monreale's bronze door and on the lost bronze door of Pisa Cathedral, destroyed in a fire in 1500. Historians al...

Bonanno Pisano, born in Pisa and active in the second half of the 12th century, worked both in the Tuscan city and in Monreale. His artistic activity is commemorated by the inscription on Monreale's bronze door and on the lost bronze door of Pisa Cathedral, destroyed in a fire in 1500. Historians al...

bronze door The bronze door, commissioned to the artist Bonanno Pisano, was fitted into an ancient portal made of cusped spolia marble, with four pointed rings. It is richly decorated with bands of figurative, geometric and abstract motifs in relief, as well as opus sectile inlays with star-shaped p...

A monastery designed for a community of monks or nuns, under the authority of an abbot or abbess, is a complex of various buildings (church or in the case of Cefalù and Monreale Cathedral, refectory, cloister, library, chambers and dormitories, kitchens, storerooms etc.) which in ancient times coul...

Pope Lucius III was born in Lucca as Ubaldo Allucingoli. He was appointed Cardinal in 1138 and in the following years he worked alongside Pope Alexander III during his pontificate before being elected Pope on 1 August 1181. His pontificate, although brief, was characterised by the clashes with Emper...