Sam, I am: East meets West

Santa Maria la Nuova
Cathedral

The town of Monreale, Sicily; from the Latin "Mons Regalis" (literally 'Royal Mountain'), straddles a slope of Mount Caputo, a virtual hilltop location overlooking Palermo. The focal point of Monreale is its 12th century cathedral, a beautiful amalgamation of Arab, Byzantine and Norman artistic styles framed by traditional Romanesque architecture. The Norman-Arab-Byzantine was a unique style, part of a multicultural amalgamation that lasted several centuries. Definitely a mouthful to us layperson, but the result was a beautiful golden mosaic cathedral with a multicultural background.

The Norman-Arab-Byzantine architectural style was a logical reflection of Sicilian society of the time. The norman conquerors deemed it prudent to keep the best of Byzantine and Arab culture, government and law in tact, augmenting it with their own northwestern European institutions when and where deemed necessary or pragmatic. In other words, if it works, don't fix it; just tweak it to reflect your culture.

Monreale Cathedral was constructed from 1174 to 1189 on the orders of King William II of Sicily (https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-II-king-of-Sicily), whose Norman ancestors had conquered the island from the Arabs a century earlier. The most memorable aspect of the cathedral are it's golden mosaics covering virtually the entire interior. The mosaics were made from an estimated 2,200 kg (4,850 lbs) of pure gold by craftsmen from Constantinople and are a Byzantine element. Structural details, such as the geometric inlay of the apse exteriors are Arab. Externally, the Cathedral of Monreale is not particularly striking, rather kind of plain actually.

King William II
offering the Monreale Cathedral to the Virgin Mary

The mosaics along the sides walls of the cathedral includes scenes from the Old and New Testaments; the life of Christ in the nave; as well as that of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in the side apses. Like many churches and cathedrals dating from the middle ages, the mosaics were intended to educate the largely illiterate population about Christianity. A newsletter from Planetware.com provides a great guide to the Cathedral of Monreale including a layout and descriptions of the scenes depicted along the Cathedral walls (https://www.planetware.com/monreale/monreale-cathedral-i-si-monct.htm).

The Cathedral construction was a result of King William's need to demonstrate his independence from the Matthew d'Aiello, the royal chancellor, and Walter Offamilias, the English bishop of Palermo who tried to influence the young king into granting them more power at the expense of Muslim ministers and other functionaries in William's court.

It is said that William engaged in certain practices that were unusual for a Norman christian monarch of the Middle Ages. He had numerous muslim ministers, astrologers and doctors in his court. It is also purported that William kept a harem in his palace, and to have spoken, read and written Arabic. So maybe it is fitting after all that The Cathedral, Santa Maria La Nuova built in Sicily for Normans; using artisans from diverse cultures producing a multicultural masterpiece that is essentially East meets West, not so unlike King William's life.