The monastery complex of Santa Maria Nuova was built between 1173 and 1189, the year of the death of the founding King William II, known as the Good. It stands in the heart of the city's historical centre, overlooking the Oreto Valley and the celebrated Conca D'Oro (Golden Basin). The Golden Temple is the Christian apotheosis of the dream of the Norman ruler, grandson of Roger II, third king of Sicily.
The foundation is linked to a legend justifying the large sum spent by the king to build the monastery and the beauty of its church, a work which reveals a supernatural beauty. Legend has it that Our Lady appeared to William II in a dream and ordered him to build a church in her honour, showing him the location of a treasure that would be used to build the church. The construction was to be grandiose so as to match the cathedrals of Europe's largest cities and surpass the Palatine Chapel in beauty, built by his grandfather Roger. William II employed Sicilian craftsmen together with Byzantine workers for the construction. The church is located in the between the so-called Royal Palace, a hunting lodge built by Roger II, and the monastery. The entire monastic complex was entrusted to the Benedictine Order of Cava dei Tirreni. The Cloister is remarkably beautiful with its palm tree fountain, known as the king's fountain, and the countless capitals with biblical scenes, phytomorphic elements and animals from the medieval bestiary.
The cathedral basilica, a masterpiece of Sicilian-Norman or Byzantine-Norman art, joins together two architectural forms of ecclesiastical spaces, the Byzantine sanctuary and the Latin naves. The two massive towers framing the façade and the high apse flanked by the two apsidioles are Norman. The external decoration of the complex is made of lava stone. The decoration of the apses is noteworthy, with its three rows of small blind intersecting ogival arches of different heights, supported by slender columns on high plinths, while polychrome stone geometries emphasise the arches framing panels and rosettes with ever-changing star patterns. The king builder commissioned the main door of the cathedral to Bonanno Pisano, who made it in 1186. It features 46 panels with episodes from the book of Genesis and the New Testament.
The northern door was made by Barisano da Trani, also in bronze, and features images of saints.
The entire surface of the cathedral's inner walls is covered with mosaics consisting of 6400 square metres of stone, glass and gold tiles. This is the church with the largest mosaic extension of all those built in antiquity. The mosaic cycle tells the story of salvation. A first set in the central vessel narrates the first 39 chapters of the book of Genesis. The transept, with episodes from the Gospel, narrates the life of Christ. The apse, facing east and covered entirely in gold, describes the celestial liturgy. Every single episode and every single tile draw us to the grandiose and impressive beauty of the image of Christ Pantocrator.
The wooden ceilings were made in the 19th century after the terrible fire that partially destroyed the basilica. In the northern transept, we find the tombs of the relatives of the Good King and the reliquary altar with the heart of St. Louis of France, while the south transept hosts the tombs of the two kings William I and William II.
Chapel of the Crucifix
The Chapel of the Crucifix is exuberantly decorated in Baroque style. All the walls are covered with a profusion of inlaid marble, bas-reliefs and statues, and an admirable wooden crucifix from the 15th century made of a lapis lazuli-coloured enamel surface stands in the dossal. The sacred objects for the celebration of the Feast of the Most Holy Cross are kept in the adjacent sacristy. The filigree objects made of silver and stone, the crosier and the monstrance, are of special value. The sacristy cupboards were made in walnut wood and marble in 1690 by masters from Trapani, and tell passion episodes.
Source: Monreale Cathedral
