All that glitters is not gold.

During the planning of our 2014 Sicily trip, all references to Monreale were basically "the main, if not the only reason to visit Monreale is for its amazing cathedral".  Monreale is approximately 7 kilometers SW of Palermo and it was decided this would be our first day trip.  The general train of thought was a 30 minute drive was a good way to acclimate to driving in Sicily especially after a couple of long travel days. The driver of the group will attest to the fact there is "NO" good way to acclimating to driving Sicily, you just survive it.  https://sandrawhiteway.blogspot.com/2014/06/recalculating-is-four-letter-word.html. 

While it is essentially true that the primary reason to visit Monreale is the cathedral, we found a hidden gem of a church enroute from the parking lot to The Cathedral, Santa Maria La Nuova.  As we were walking we past a nondescript building with it's doors opened; glancing up at it we saw beautifully painted walls.  We walked up to the door called out and when we received no response, in we went. We had arrived at Chiesa Teutonica Capitolare sede dell'Ordine Teutonico di Sicilia e dell'Accademia Enrico VI di Hohenstaufen (Capitular Teutonic Church seat of the Teutonic Order of Sicily and the Henry VI Academy of Hohenstaufen; based on google translate).  

Finding information on Chiesa Teutonica Capitolare sede dell'Ordine Teutonico di Sicilia e dell'Accademia Enrico VI di Hohenstaufen has been near impossible.  All my email inquiries have been to no avail and what little I have been able to ascertain seems to indicate that this is an abandoned church no longer in use.  In fact it may have been abandoned when we visited in 2014.  As we called out several times with no answer.  All we know is it had a beautifully appointed interior that sadly was showing its age; the unexpected gem during our visit to Monreale. A fine example of "all that glitters is not gold". 

Colourful ceiling

Altar Balustrade