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Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: MOL-MOS |
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MONREALE (contraction of monte-reale, so called from a palace built here by Roger I.) , a town of Sicily, in the province of Palermo, 5 m. inland (W.S.W.) from it, on the slope of Monte Caputo, overlooking the beautiful and very fertile valley called " La Collect d'oro" (the Golden Shell), famed for its orange, olive and almond trees, the produce of which is exported in large quantities. Pop. (1901), 17,399 (town); 23,556 (commune). The town, which for long was a mere village, owed its origin to the founding of a large Benedictine
The archiepiscopal palace and monastic buildings on the south side were of great size and magnificence, and were surrounded by a massive precinct wall
The church is fortunately well preserved. In plan it is a curious mixture of Eastern and Western arrangement. The nave is like an Italian basilica, while the large triple-apsed choir is like one of the early three-apsed churches, of which so many examples still exist in Syria and other eastern countries. It is, in fact, like two quite different churches put together endwise. The basilican nave is wide, with narrow. aisles. Monolithic columns of grey oriental granite (except one, which is of cipollino), evidently the spoils of older buildings, on each side support eight pointed arches much stilted. The capitals of these (mainly Corinthian) are also of the classical period. There is no triforium, but a high clerestory with wide two-light windows, with simple tracery like those in the nave-aisles and throughout the church, which give sufficient (if anything too much) light. The other half, Eastern in two senses, is both wider and higher than the nave. It also is divided into a central space with two aisles, each of the divisions ending at the east with an apse . The roofs throughout are of open woodwork very low in pitch, constructionally plain, but richly decorated with colour, now mostly restored. At the west end of the nave are two projecting towers, with a narthex-entrance between them. A large open atrium, which once existed at the west, is now completely destroyed, having been replaced by a Renaissance portico. The outside of the church is plain, except the aisle walls and three eastern apses, which are decorated with intersecting pointed arches and other ornaments inlaid in marble. The outsides of the principal doorways and their pointed arches are magnificently enriched with carving and coloured inlay, a curious combination of three stylesNorman-French, Byzantine and Arab.It is, however, the enormous extent (70,400 sq. ft.) and glittering splendour of the glass mosaics covering the interior which make this church so splendid. With the exception of a high dodo, itself very beautiful, made of marble slabs with bands of mosaic between them, the whole interior surface of the walls, including soffits and jambs of all the arches, is covered with minute mosaic-pictures in brilliant colours on a gold ground. The mosaic pictures are arranged in tiers, divided by horizontal and vertical bands. In parts of the choir there are five of these tiers of subjects or single figures one above another. The half dome of the central apse has a colossal half-length figure of Christ, with a seated Virgin and Child below; the other apses have full-length colossal figures of St Peter and St Paul. Inscriptions on each picture explain the subject or saint represented; these are in Latin, except some few which are in Greek. The subjects in the nave begin with scenes from the Book of Genesis, illustrating the Old Testament types of Christ and His scheme of redemption, with figures of those who prophesied and prepared for His coming. Towards the east are subjects from the New' Testament,An earlier church appears to have existed at Monreale since the 6th century, but no traces of it now remain.chiefly representing Christ's miracles and suffering, with apostles, evangelists and other saints. The design, execution and choice of subjects all appear to be of Byzantine origin, the subjects being selected from the Menologium drawn
In the central apse at Monreale, behind the high altar, is a fine marble throne for the archbishop. This position of the throne is a survival of the early basilican arrangement, when the apse and altar were at the west end. In that case the celebrant stood behind the altar at mass, and looked over it eastwards towards the people. On the north side, in front of the high altar, is another somewhat similar throne for the use of the king. The tomb of William I., the founder's fathera magnificent porphyry sarcophagus contemporary with the church, under a marble pillared canopyand the founder William II.'s tomb, erected in 1595, were both shattered by a fire, which in 1811 broke out in the choir, injuring some of the mosaics, and destroying all the fine walnut choir-fittings, the organs, and most of the choir roof. The tombs were rebuilt, and the whole of the injured part of the church restored, mostly very clumsily, a few years after the fire. On the north of the choir are the tombs of Margaret, wife of William I., and her two sons Roger and Henry, together with an urn containing the viscera of St Louis of France,: who died in 1270. The pavement of the triple choir, though much restored, is a very magnificent specimen of marble and porphyry mosaic in opus alexandrinum, with signs of Arab influence in its main lines. The pavement of the nave, on the other hand, is of the 16th century. Two baroque
Two bronze doors, those on the north and west of the church, are of great interest
inscribed A.D. MCLXXX VI IND. III. BONANNUS CIVIS PISANVS ME FECIT. It is superior in execution to the Pisan one. The door by Barisanus is probably of about the same time, as other examples of his work with inscribed dates show that he was a contemporary of Bonannus. The effect of the facade is not improved by the Renaissance portico that has been added to it. The monastic library contains some valuable MSS., especially a number of bilingual documents in Greek and Arabic, the earliest being dated 1144. The archbishop now occupies the eastern part of the monastic buildings, the original palace being destroyed.. See D. B. Gravina, Il Duomo di Monreale (Palermo, 1859-1865). (J. H. M.; T. As.) End of Article: MONREALE (contraction of monte-reale, so called from a palace built here by Roger I.) If you wish, you can link directly to this article.
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