Monreale Cathedral

March 20, 2023

We’re in Monreale of course to revisit the famous Norman cathedral. The plan is to arrive right at the opening hour of 9AM and hopefully beat the crush of package tourists. Our affitacamere doesn’t provide breakfast, so we’re up and on the street by 7, headed down the block to an early open cafe. The selection is pretty slim, but a couple of pastries and flat whites each primes us for the day. We eat them sheltered from the elements in an outside covered seating area, but by the time we’re done we’re pretty chilled and happy to be rushing back to our warm room until the cathedral opens.

We arrive at the cathedral gates about five minutes before the hour, and are first in line - barely, as we pass two tour groups moving our direction as we cross the plaza. The gate opens at 9:01, and we’re almost the first in - but not quite, because the guide of the first group tries to muscle herself and her charges in ahead of us. She’s probably told them they’ll be first and get to see the cathedral empty and is unhappy to find two Americans beat her to the line.

So we’re not quite first, but nearly so. I line up a photo of the apse, and then a half dozen others, and at first I’m surprised but then increasingly distressed to see that they’re all out of focus. Something’s happened with the camera between last night and this morning, and it won’t take a clear shot - especially with the zoom extended.

I fiddle with it and adjust the settings, but nothing improves the situation. Fortunately though Rachael’s been at work with her phone camera and then lends it to me. And really, it does an excellent job - probably better than mine would have even if functioning correctly, because the super-zoom isn’t as effective in low light conditions like this.

So, thanks to Rachael and her phone, we come away with a decent set of shots to remember the morning’s visit. No words though, because there’s still the day’s ride to be accounted for. Just a photo dump to remind us of our third (and likely final) visit to one of our favorite cathedrals.

The floor of the North Transept is almost entirely original, dating to the late 1100’. It’s regarde as one of the best surviving examples of Norman floor art.

Rate this entry's writing	Heart	7
Comment on this entry	Comment	2

Bill ShaneyfeltHaving spent some time (years ago) attempting hand lapidary of a few rocks, I always find the polished stone inlay floors, walls and sculptures absolutely mind boggling.
Reply to this comment
1 year ago

Andrea BrownStunning. Thanks for sharing these images.
Reply to this comment
1 year ago