Eight kilometres above Palermo, on the slopes of Monte Caputo, sits one of the most underestimated buildings in Italy. The cathedral of Monreale is not underestimated by historians, who know perfectly well what it is, but by the average visitor who allots it a quick morning and leaves before lunch. That is a mistake.
The mosaics alone take over an hour to absorb properly. The cloister could occupy another. And the view over Palermo and the Bay of Sicily from the upper terrace on a clear day tends to stop people in their tracks regardless of how much they have already seen that day.
