3-008-839 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

The town and cathedral of Monreale, in Sicily, 1862. 'The road from Palermo ascends all the way, concluding at last in zigzags, and the ever-changing views it commands are all that the most luxuriant fancy can desire, comprising the bay, the city, and the plain, covered with orange-trees and the richest vegetation, and the noble chain of mountains that surrounds the Conca d' Oro, as the plain is called...But although the scenery around is so picturesque and beautiful, Monreale chiefly gains its notoriety from the cathedral, which, in fact, may be said to have given birth to the town. It is related that William the second King of Sicily was one day hunting...when, overcome with fatigue, he threw himself to rest beneath a tree, when he fell asleep and dreamed that the Virgin appeared to him and requested or commanded him to build her a church on the spot...Her wish - he being of a pious, obedient disposition - was obeyed, and the result was the most magnificent church in the island of Sicily. A monastery was also attached, and from the position of the buildings and their Royal founder, they received the name of "Monreale; or, the Royal Mount"...the town and cathedral occupy the centre of the Engraving'. From "Illustrated London News", 1862.