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Sicily Trip 2010

Page Two
MONREALE CATHEDRAL, Tom and I took a bus to to the hill town of Monreale to see the famous Cathedral. World renowned for the largest display of mosaics in the world.. Above is the Alter wall of Christ Pantocrator (all-powerful.)
It was built in 1174 by King William 11. .6340 sq. meters of mosaics display 130 Biblical scenes of the Old and New Testament and life of Jesus.Most of the mosiacs are gilded with gold. King William 11 wanted to show that he was more powerful than the Archbishop that built the Palermo Cathedral. It displays Arab, Byzantine and Norman styles.
This is the popular and perfect place for weddings. There is usually one going on.The people you see here are just tourists like us. The weddings are way up in front.
The outside structure is plain Romanesque architecture, with this clock tower.
The ceiling of the cathedral is made of carved and painted wood. It seems it is as high as the structure is wide.
Here is the view of Palermo from Monreale. The population is over 1 million. It was hazy that day, so the view not clear. All those tall buildings are not businesses, they are apartment complexes or condos.
When we came down the hill, we stopped at Mezzomoreale, the suburb where all our ancestors lived. Here is a view looking over the wall to the Villa Tasca where our great-grandmother's family worked.
Mezzomonreale means "half way to Monreale." It is between old Palermo and Monreale. Not much left of the old town, here is the oldest church we could find, maybe our family worshiped here.
Teatro Massimo - largest Opera House in Italy. Construction finished in 1897. The large dome at the top is over the stage. One of the first opera houses to have very deep stages.I attended in 2007. Spectacular !!
PALERMO CATHEDRAL - Built in 1179 by the archbishop Walter 11, to try and outdue the Cathedral Monreal Inside the granite and marble tombs of favorite Kings - Roger and Frederick. Exterior has many styles but the tufa walls are beautiful.
LA ZISA - 12th century Arab-Norman Castle. Built for William 1 and finished by his son William 11, used for vacation home. Mostly Arab architecture in and out.. Very plain.
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