Monreale Cathedral Cappella Del Crocifisso

72 THE PROVINCE OF PALERMO ENVIRONS OF PALERMO: MONREALE 73

restored again in the 1980s when the 19th-century timber proved to be full of termites; that of the choir bears the stamp of Arab workmanship.

The mosaics The magnificent series of mosaics tell in pictures the Old and New Testaments (NB: Coin-operated lights are essential to see the exquisite details; binoculars are useful). It is not known whether only Greek, or local craftsmen trained by Byzantine artists, were in- volved in this remarkable project, and the exact date of its completion is uncertain (thought to be around 1182). The large scenes chosen to illustrate the theme of Christ’s Ascension and the Assumption of the Virgin fit an overall scheme designed to celebrate the Norman monarchy and to emphasize its affinity with Jerusalem. Under the rich decoration of the upper walls runs an elegant marble and mosaic dado in the Arab style. Nave: Above the arcade the Genesis cycle begins in a double tier, starting with the up- per row at the eastern end of the south side with the Creation and continuing round

monreale cathedral Cappella del Crocifisso

Presbytery 2

4 Crossing 3 1 monreale cathedral: west front interlacing arches of limestone and lava-stone, can be seen from Via del Arcivescovado. Cloister The entrance is beneath the portico along the north side built in 1547–69 by Gian Do- Nave menico and Fazio Gagini, complete with benches. Here the portal has a mosaic frieze and a wonderful bronze door by Barisano da Trani (1179).

Interior of the cathedral The interior (102m by 40m), remarkably simple in design but glittering with golden and coloured mosaics covering a surface of over 6400m square, gives an immediate impression of majesty and splendour. Similar in concept to the Cappella Palatina in Palermo, the design is carried out on a much greater scale. Beyond the rectangular crossing, surmounted by a high lantern, with shallow transepts, is a deep presbytery with three apses, recalling the plan of Cluniac abbey churches. The stilted arches in Entrance the nave are carried on 18 slender columns with composite capitals, of Roman origin, to roof Fountain all of granite except the first on the south side, which is of cipollino marble and repre- sents the archbishop. The ceiling of the nave was restored after a fire in 1811, and then 192 THE PROVINCE OF AGRIGENTO AGRIGENTO: VALLEY OF THE TEMPLES 193 exceptional archaeological museum (open 9–7; Sun, Mon and holidays 9–1; sometimes Room IV: Architectonic fragments open until midnight in Aug; T: 0922 401565), spaciously arranged in a 1960s building. It including a remarkable variety of lion- is approached from the car park to the north through a garden and the 14th-century head water-spouts from various build- cloisters of the convent attached to the church of San Nicola. In the cloisters is a long ings (including the Temple of Herakles stone bench carrying an inscription to Herakles and Hermes found in the gymnasium and the Temple of Demeter). by the lower agora. Room V: Statuettes and heads in terra- cotta. Note the female votive statues, the Room I: Beyond the ticket booth, painted vases. Also prehistoric objects mask of a black African of the 6th cen- between the bookshop and the entry found in Agrigento beneath the Classi- tury bc, two cases of moulds, and a head barriers, are a couple of posters provid- cal area. Around the corner are objects of Athena with a helmet (c. 490 bc). The ing basic information about the history, from nearby Gela (6th–7th centuries highlight is the 5th-century bc terracotta topography and ancient sources for bc), including Corinthian and Rhodian head of Persephone in case 51, showing Akragas. ware (note the head of a bull), as well as her with a firm chin and a strong nose; Room II: Early and late Bronze-Age ma- locally-made vases. A small dish shows the statuette was modelled by hand (you terial from sites near Agrigento, includ- the three-legged symbol of Sicily, the can still vaguely see the fingerprints of ing a small Mycenaean amphora (prob- Trinacria or Triskeles, one of its earliest the craftsman) and not made using a ably found at Porto Empedocle) and known depictions (7th century bc). mould. The cases on the north side of the room contain finds from the area near the Temple of Herakles, including The bull of phalaris architectonic fragments in terracotta. Room VI: Devoted to finds from the Phalaris, the 6th-century bc tyrant of Akragas is said to have had a hollow bronze Temple of Zeus. Here the remarkable bull built, into which he would force his victims and then light a fire underneath. telamon (7.6m high) is displayed, which As they roasted, their shrieks would issue from the creature’s mouth, reverberat- was recomposed from fragments in the ing against the metal to sound like a bull in full bellow. Inevitably this instrument 19th century (a copy is on display in the of torture has given rise to theory and speculation. Could there be a Cretan con- temple itself); along the north wall are nection? Daedalus the inventor, who by curious coincidence emerges as the three colossal telamon heads illustrating legendary founder of Akragas, was employed by King Minos and built a hollow three different types. The blocks of stone cow for Minos’ wife, Pasiphaë, to climb inside after she conceived a blind passion were originally covered with plaster. for a bull. The bull had his way with her, resulting in the birth of the Minotaur, Plans and models suggest possible recon- half-man, half-bull, to whom children were sacrificed. But if Phalaris’ bull was an Reconstructed telamon from the Temple of structions of the temple, and the as-yet instrument of ritual sacrifice, then was there also perhaps a Phoenician connec- Zeus. The reconstruction is conjectural. The unresolved position of the telamones. tion? The Phoenician sacrificial burial-ground dedicated to Baal at Mozia seems discovery of a leg of one of the statues attached Room VII: Fragments of wall-paintings to yield traces of child sacrifice. Such connections are ill-explored and scholars to a block of stone, for example, has shown that and mosaics from the Hellenistic and give them short shrift. Perhaps the most interesting myth about the Akragas bull the feet must have been further apart than is Roman housing district, and a fantastic is that the first victim was the person who had made it, because his evil genius indicated here. cork model showing one possible recon- horrified Phalaris so much. And the last victim, it is said, was the tyrant himself. struction of the Temple of Zeus. nos (440–430 bc) shows a sacrifice to Rooms VIII and IX: The coin collection Apollo. At the end of the hall is a fine is displayed in a new gallery with well- Room III: Superb collection of vases, kraters from the 4th–3rd centuries bc marble statue of a warrior (c. 480 bc), written descriptive panels explaining including a group of outstanding Attic include a lekythos with Nike sacrific- belonging to the Early Classical period, the development of Agrigentine coinage. vases from the mid-6th to the early ing (460–450 bc), and kraters depicting that may have adorned part of the pedi- Four beautifully-lit display cases are 3rd centuries bc. Black- and red-figure Dionysiac scenes (c. 440 bc); a stam- ment of the Temple of Herakles. equipped with movable magnifying 540 background information running head verso pages 541 p. 541 catania

p. 540 caltanissetta