Monreale Cathedral
Monreale Cathedral, in the hills above Palermo, was built by the last Norman king of Sicily, and inside it is one of the great sights of the Middle Ages: walls covered in gold mosaic, Bible stories from the Creation onwards, with a colossal Christ looking down from the apse. Next door is one of the most beautiful cloisters in Italy. The nave is free.
A king’s cathedral
William II, called “the Good”, the last of the Norman kings of Sicily, founded a Benedictine abbey on the slopes of Monte Caputo in the early 1170s; a papal bull confirmed it at the end of 1174, and a few years later the abbey church became a cathedral. It was dedicated to the Virgin as Santa Maria Nuova. Building and decoration went ahead at great speed, and the mosaics were done mostly in the 1180s, by mosaicists from Constantinople working with Sicilians. William died in 1189 and is buried here.
The building mixes the cultures of Norman Sicily: a Latin basilica, Byzantine mosaics, and outside, on the apses, interlaced arches inlaid with lava and limestone in the Islamic manner. In 2015 it was listed by UNESCO with the Arab-Norman monuments of Palermo and Cefalù.
The visitor’s cheat sheet
| Where | Piazza Guglielmo II, Monreale, about 7 km south-west of central Palermo |
|---|---|
| Opening hours | Monday–Saturday 9am–1pm and 2pm–5pm (last entry 12.45pm and 4.45pm); Sunday 2pm–5pm only. No sightseeing during services |
| Admission | Free to the nave; terraces, Roano Chapel, treasury and museum on a separate diocesan ticket (around €6 at last report) |
| Cloister | €7, reduced €3.50 (€8 booked online; Region of Sicily); Monday–Saturday 9am–7pm, Sundays and holidays 9am–1.30pm, last entry 30 minutes before closing; free for under-18s and on the first Sunday of the month |
| Mass | Monday–Saturday 6pm; Sunday 10.30am, noon and 6pm |
| How long | An hour for the cathedral; two to three hours with the cloister and terraces |
Hours and admission checked against the official site in October 2026. They change; the official site is always the last word.
Not on Sunday morning. On Sundays the cathedral opens to visitors only in the afternoon. On weekdays it closes for an hour at lunchtime, but the cloister, with its own ticket, stays open.
What to see
The bronze doors
The main door, under the porch, is by Bonanno Pisano, who signed and dated it in 1186: scenes from the Old Testament below and the New above, in small square panels. The side door, on the north, is by Barisano da Trani.
The mosaics
Inside, the walls of the nave tell the story of Genesis and the Old Testament, from the Creation, Adam and Eve and Noah’s ark onwards; the aisles and transepts tell the life of Christ and his miracles, and the side apses the lives of Saints Peter and Paul. The cathedral gives the area as about 6,400 square metres. A restoration of the mosaics of the sanctuary, damaged by water, was finished in 2024, with new lighting.
The Pantocrator
In the apse, the half-length figure of Christ Pantocrator, the ruler of all, spreads his arms across the semi-dome, his right hand raised in blessing. Below him are the Virgin and Child, angels and apostles. On the piers of the sanctuary arch are two mosaics of William himself: crowned by Christ, and offering a model of his cathedral to the Virgin.
The royal tombs and the Roano Chapel
In the south transept are the tombs of William I, in porphyry, and of William II. In the north transept, on the diocesan ticket, are the tombs of William II’s mother and brothers, and the heart and entrails of King Louis IX of France, who died on crusade at Tunis in 1270. Off it is the Roano Chapel, a dazzling Baroque chapel of inlaid coloured marble of 1686–92, whose sacristy holds the treasury.
The roof terraces
Old stairs in the south tower lead to walkways over the roof, about 45 metres up, with views down into the cloister and across the Conca d’Oro, the plain of Palermo, to the sea.
The cloister
The cloister of the Benedictine abbey, entered separately from the square, is a square of about 47 metres on each side, ringed by more than 200 slender paired columns. Some are plain, others carved or inlaid with glittering mosaic in zigzags and spirals, and their capitals are carved with Bible stories, animals and knights; one shows William offering the church. In one corner, a little enclosure of arches shelters a fountain, a column carved like a palm trunk, in the Arab manner.
Tours and where to stay
The cathedral’s paid areas are ticketed at the cathedral, and the cloister at its own entrance. Most visitors come out from Palermo for half a day; tours often combine Monreale with Cefalù or with Palermo’s own Norman monuments.
These links go to GetYourGuide and Booking.com. This site earns nothing from them at present — they are here because they are the quickest way to check what is actually available.
Don’t miss
- The Pantocrator Filling the apse.
- Noah’s ark And the rest of Genesis, in the nave.
- Bonanno’s door Signed and dated 1186.
- The cloister columns No two alike.
- The roof The view to Palermo and the sea.
Insider tips
Check the bus. Bus 389 from Piazza Indipendenza in Palermo is the cheap way up, but its service into Monreale town has been suspended and restored more than once since 2018, most recently in June 2026; at present it runs to a stop near the cathedral, and during suspensions a town shuttle has run up from Rocca. A taxi costs about €20–26. Drivers should use the municipal car park below the town and walk up.
Look at the outside of the apses, at the back of the cathedral, for the interlaced arches inlaid with dark lava.
Common questions
Is Monreale Cathedral free?
The nave, with its mosaics, is free. The roof terraces, the Roano Chapel with the treasury, the north transept and the Diocesan Museum are on a modest diocesan ticket (around €6 at last report; the cathedral does not publish prices, so check at the desk). The cloister is run separately by the Region of Sicily and costs €7 full price, €3.50 reduced (€8 when booked online; more when an exhibition is on).
When is Monreale Cathedral open?
Monday to Saturday 9am–1pm and 2pm–5pm, with last entry a quarter of an hour before each closing; on Sundays only 2pm–5pm (there are Masses at 10.30am and noon). The cloister is open Monday to Saturday 9am–7pm and on Sundays 9am–1.30pm.
How do you get to Monreale from Palermo?
AMAT bus 389 runs from Piazza Indipendenza, by the Norman Palace, in about half an hour, though the service into the town has been interrupted more than once; check before you go. A taxi takes about a quarter of an hour and costs roughly €20–26 each way.
How big are the mosaics at Monreale?
The cathedral gives about 6,400 square metres; other sources say up to 6,500. Either way they are among the largest mosaic cycles in the world, made in the late 12th century by mosaicists from Byzantium working with Sicilian craftsmen.
Is there a dress code at Monreale Cathedral?
Cover shoulders and knees, as in any Italian church; shawls are sometimes lent at the door. Photographs without flash are generally allowed.
More churches in Italy
- St Mark’s Basilica — the other great golden mosaic church of Italy.
- San Vitale, Ravenna — Byzantine mosaics six centuries older.
- Amalfi Cathedral — another Arab-Norman cloister of interlaced arches, on the mainland.