I mentioned this abbey in the last post on St. Louis. Monreale is about 8 km south of Palermo's cathedral, straddling Mt. Caputo. Work on the abbey began in 1172, one year after the coronation of William II (the Good). He used this project to advance the Latin Church in Sicily over the Orthodox, Jewish, and Muslim faiths. The abbey was built like a fortress since it guarded the mountain passes near Ba'lat,a forested Arab hamlet used by the royals for hunting and falconry. It also served as a Benedictine monastery. The superstructure was finished by 1176 and the mosaics and cloister were done by 1189. The bronze doors came from Pisa in 1186. The abbey contains the largest concentration of Norman, Arab and Byzantine art in one location. 150 mosaics take up 6000 square meters of wall space, larger than St. Mark's in Venice. 228 columns surrounding the cloister feature ornate capitals carved with scenes from Norman history. Muslims rebelling over excessive taxation by the abbot of Monreale led several attacks against the abbey, the worst in 1216, but they had little overall impact. By 1246, Frederick II has put down these rebels and consolidated political control over Corleone and San Guiseppe Jato. Below are some pictures of this unique and ornate location.Pictures from IStock
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| Monreale Ceiling above the main altar |
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| Monreale mosaic of Christ Pantocrator |
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| Monreale mosaics |
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| Monreale Mosaic of Noah building the Ark |
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