The mosaics of a medieval cathedral in Sicily, built by the island’s last Norman king, are set to regain their golden lustre thanks to careful restoration work and new lighting.
The Monreale Cathedral, which was built between 1174 and 1189 near Palermo on the orders of King William II, is a Unesco World Heritage site that combines Western, Islamic and Byzantine styles and is home to one of the world’s largest indoor mosaics.
The church is “unique in the world”, and the beauty of its art “is like a dart that strikes you, wounds you, makes you suffer, creates passion and at the same time opens the heart”, said local archpriest Father Nicola Gaglio.
The decorations, which cover an area of 6,500 square metres (70,000 square feet) and depict biblical stories from the Old and New Testament, are believed by experts to have been made using 2 tonnes (2.2 tons) of pure gold.
Their highlight is the giant depiction of “Christ Pantocrator” (literally “ruler of all”) in the apse, or half-dome, at the back of the cathedral. It is a typical Orthodox Christian icon, also present in the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul.
