Sicily 2: Palermo 2 [Sky Watch Friday]
By Shattman
Using Palermo as our home base, we made several bus excursions to surrounding sites of interest. Just a few miles outside Palermo was the Monreale Cathedral, built in the late 12th century by William II (the last Norman king of Sicily). It is a unique masterpiece of Byzantine art, with glittering mosaics and frescoes. One marvelous example is the figure of Christ on the apse cupola.
The exterior of the apse has interlaced marble and tufa arches characteristic of the height of Norman decoration.
The Cloister below was another masterpiece of Norman art. It contains 228 variously decorated small double columns with Arab style arches and intricate capitals.