Monreale & Cefalù

Monreale, 8 km above Palermo, is home to one of the greatest artworks in human history: the Norman cathedral (1174–1185) with 6,340 square meters of Byzantine gold mosaics. King William II had the cathedral built as a sign of his power and piety — and the result surpasses anything Rome, Ravenna, or Constantinople have to offer.

Entering the cathedral takes your breath away: Above the altar stands a 20-meter-high Christ Pantocrator — his gaze seems to look directly into the eyes of every visitor. The walls tell the entire Bible in gold-glimmering mosaics: the Creation of the World, Adam and Eve, the story of Noah, the life of Christ — scene by scene, in a detail and beauty that has lost none of its impact after 850 years. The cloister (Chiostro dei Benedettini) next to the cathedral is a masterpiece of Romanesque-Arab architecture: 228 double columns, each decorated differently, with mosaics, reliefs, and fantastic capitals.

Cefalù, 70 km east of Palermo on the northern coast, is one of the most photogenic towns in Sicily: A medieval old town squeezed between a massive rock (La Rocca, 268 m) and the sea, dominated by the Norman cathedral (1131) with its famous mosaics — another Christ Pantocrator, smaller than in Monreale but equally impressive in its intensity. The climb to the Rocca di Cefalù (30–45 minutes) rewards with a panorama over the red roofs, the cathedral, the beach, and the coast.

Cefalù's Lungomare (seafront promenade) is one of the most beautiful in Italy: a long sandy beach right in front of the old town, framed by fishing boats, with a view of the medieval silhouette. Cefalù is also the unofficial capital of the Madonie — the wooded mountain range inland, ideal for hikes and village visits away from the coastal hustle. In Castelbuono (30 minutes inland), the Pasticceria Fiasconaro makes perhaps the best panettone in Sicily.