Dedicated to Santa Maria la Nuova, this exquisite cathedral was built in the 12th century by order of King William II of Sicily. It stands as one of the greatest surviving examples of Norman architecture in Sicily and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The cathedral’s interior walls are covered in bright golden mosaics depicting scenes from the Old and New Testaments, among the most extensive and well-preserved Byzantine-style mosaic cycles in the world, crowned with a massive Byzantine mosaic of Christ Pantocrator. Pilgrims celebrate Mass surrounded by this shimmering testament to centuries of Christian art and devotion.
Photo: Berthold Werner, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
