“It’s pure beauty”: Italy’s largest medieval mosaics restored

On a hill overlooking the city of Palermo in Sicily sits a lesser-known gem of Italian art: Monreale Cathedral.

Built in the 12th century under Norman rule, it features the largest Byzantine-style mosaics in Italy, the second in the world after those in the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul.

Now, this UNESCO World Heritage Site has undergone extensive restoration to restore it to its former splendor.

The Monreale mosaics were intended to impress, humiliate and inspire the visitor walking along the central nave, following the fashion of Constantinople, the capital of the surviving Roman empire in the east.

They extend over more than 6,400 square meters and contain around 2.2 kg of solid gold.

The restoration lasted more than a year, and in that time the cathedral became a kind of construction site, with a labyrinth of scaffolding placed on the altar and transept.

Local experts from the Italian Ministry of Culture led a series of interventions, starting with the removal of a thick layer of dust that had accumulated on the mosaics over the years.

They then repaired some of the tiles that had lost their glaze and gold leaf, making them look like black dots from below.

Finally, they intervened in the areas where the tiles were coming off the wall and secured them.

Working on the mosaics was a challenge and a great responsibility, says Father Nicola Gaglio.

He has been a priest here for 17 years and has followed the restoration closely, like an apprehensive father.

“The team approached this job almost on tiptoe,” he tells me.

“Sometimes unforeseen events arose and they had to pause operations while they found a solution.

“For example, when they got to the ceiling, they realized that it had previously been covered with a layer of varnish that had turned yellowish. They had to literally peel it off like cling film.”

The mosaics were last partially restored in 1978, but this time the intervention had a much broader scope and included the replacement of the old lighting system.

“There was a very old system. Light was scarce, energy costs were sky-high and justice was not done in any way to the beauty of the mosaics,” says Matteo Cundari.

He is the Country Manager of Zumtobel, the company in charge of installing the new lights.

“The main challenge was making sure we highlighted the mosaics and created something that responded to the various needs of the cathedral,” he adds.

“We also wanted to create a completely reversible system, something that could be replaced in 10 or 15 years without damaging the building.”

This first tranche of works cost 1.1 million euros. A second one, centered on the central nave, is being planned soon.

I ask Father Gaglio what it was like to finally see the scaffolding fall and the mosaics shine in a new light. He laughs and shrugs.

“When you see it, you’re overwhelmed with awe and you can’t really think about anything. It’s pure beauty,” he says.

“It is a responsibility to be the guardian of this world heritage. This world needs beauty, because it reminds us of the good in humanity, what it means to be men and women.”