Posted by annam on Wednesday, May 24, 2017 in 2017 Blog post.

On 5/23 we went to Monreale and Palermo to visit a couple cathedrals. First in Monreale, we went to a large cathedral that the Normans commissioned in the 12^th century. It was grand and tall with monastic buildings attached, all of which were surprisingly well preserved. The floor plan and style of the church was a cross between Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic with some Arabic influence. The church has semi-domes as the roof, stemming from Arab architecture. A large portrait of Christ is centered in the middle of the apse with Greek inscriptions on either side. The most impressive aspect was the large and detailed mosaics on all of the walls around the church. Each mosaic had vibrant colors with gold background tiling, telling stories from the Old and New Testaments. From what we heard, the depictions on and execution of the mosaics come from Byzantine origin. In the cloister, we saw pointed arches supported by somewhere around 215 marble pillars. Each pillar was ornately decorated with colorful glass tiles.

Among all of the cathedrals and churches I have been to, this is one of the most elaborate and well preserved. I was also struck by the fact that the creators drew on Arab influences when designing. There are so few churches around the world that incorporate typical Muslim influences. In my mind, I thought that the Christian church would not want to be associated or mix with the Muslims. Sicily and Turkey are the only places I have been to so far where the churches were actually planned with Arab influences. The Hagia Sophia in Turkey, for example, started out as a basilica and then was transformed into a mosque; but the dome structures were built when it was a church. I think the architecture speaks for what we discussed in class about religious tolerance in Sicily. Most rulers did not care about religion and actually kept Muslims as advisors. The Arab influence was not considered foreign- it was blended into the culture and architecture. Nowadays with issues of immigration and terrorism, I feel as though religious intolerance has become more prevalent. As we discussed in class, there is much to learn and appreciate from older time periods, though we think we have advanced. I wonder- were people more tolerant or more complacent in regards to religion that allowed them to accept the diverse architecture?