Monreale, like Cefalù, has a UNESCO Arab-Norman Byzantine Cathedral (1174-1182), complete with its own Christ Pantocrator, cloister, and beautiful mosaics on the exterior and interior. Note: you will have to pay for and wear a decency tarp if your knees are exposed when you visit.
Monday, June 20 continued
We visited the cathedral and cloisters—there were incredible mosaics, with lots of gold, throughout, and the cathedral had a very ornate ceiling. The Christ Pantocrater was similar to Cefalù’s. After seeing the cloisters and its sculptural columns, we walked around the town of Monreale a bit before getting on the bus back to Palermo. Throughout, our guide Andrea regaled us with Sicilian history: Phoenicians/Punics/Canaanites on the west side and the Greeks in the east, followed by the Romans, Goths, Arabs, Normans and more!
Hays in Sicily 