Monreale cloister columns
These marble columns are some of the 216 which support the passageway which runs around the perimeter of the cloister of Monreale cathedral near Palermo, Sicily. They are decorated with 'diaper work', i.e. repeating geometric patterns.
Similar patterned columns (albeit on a much larger scale) can be seen in the nave of Durham Cathedral, which was also constructed with the help of Norman masons.
Perhaps the incised grooves which form the patterns on each of the columns in this picture would originally have been filled with mosaic decoration as is the case on many of the other columns in the cloister.
Monreale is a Norman cathedral, begun in 1174 by William II of Sicily. The cloister was completed in about 1200 and is famous for the decorative carving and mosaics on its columns, as well as the high relief sculptures on its column capitals which include Biblical scenes, foliage and allegories.
Monreale cloister columns
These marble columns are some of the 216 which support the passageway which runs around the perimeter of the cloister of Monreale cathedral near Palermo, Sicily. They are decorated with 'diaper work', i.e. repeating geometric patterns.
Similar patterned columns (albeit on a much larger scale) can be seen in the nave of Durham Cathedral, which was also constructed with the help of Norman masons.
Perhaps the incised grooves which form the patterns on each of the columns in this picture would originally have been filled with mosaic decoration as is the case on many of the other columns in the cloister.
Monreale is a Norman cathedral, begun in 1174 by William II of Sicily. The cloister was completed in about 1200 and is famous for the decorative carving and mosaics on its columns, as well as the high relief sculptures on its column capitals which include Biblical scenes, foliage and allegories.