Monreale

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Monreale
coat of arms
Monreale (Italy)
Monreale
Country Italy
region Sicily
Metropolitan city Palermo  (PA)
Local name Murriali / Munriali
Coordinates 38 ° 5 '  N , 13 ° 18'  E Coordinates: 38 ° 4 '57 "  N , 13 ° 17' 31"  E
height 310  m slm
surface 529 km²
Residents 38,963 (Dec. 31, 2019)
Population density 74 inhabitants / km²
Post Code 90046
prefix 091
ISTAT number 082049
Popular name Monrealesi
Website Monreale
Panorama of Monreale

Monreale is an Italian city in the metropolitan city of Palermo in the autonomous region of Sicily with 38,963 inhabitants (as of December 31, 2019).

Location and dates

Monreale is 7 km southwest of Palermo on the slope of Monte Caputo. The inhabitants work mainly in agriculture, trade, handicrafts and tourism.

The neighboring communities are Alcamo ( TP ), Altofonte , Bisacquino , Borgetto , Calatafimi Segesta (TP), Camporeale , Carini , Contessa Entellina , Corleone , Giardinello , Gibellina (TP), Godrano , Marineo , Montelepre , Palermo , Partinico , Piana degli Albanesi , Poggioreale (TP), Roccamena , San Cipirello , San Giuseppe Jato , Santa Cristina Gela and Torretta .

Monreale has an exceptionally large municipality that stretches from the main town for over 30 kilometers inland. The area formed by the municipalities of San Cipirello and San Giuseppe Jato is an enclave within the municipality of Monreale.

history

The Sicilian King Wilhelm II built Monreale after 1172 as the seat of a monastery and had a fortress-like building complex built there, which included a cathedral , an archbishop's palace, a royal palace and a Benedictine monastery . 1183 he could from Pope Lucius III. obtain the elevation of the monastery to the Archdiocese of Monreale . Of the buildings, only the cathedral with the cloister has survived today. The medieval town developed around this complex.

Viticulture

The white , rosé and red wines produced here (and in some neighboring communities) have had a "controlled designation of origin " (Denominazione di origine controllata - DOC ) since 2000 , which was last updated on March 7, 2014.

There are blended wines produced (white, rosé and red blends). In addition, almost single-variety wines are produced, which must contain at least 85% of the grape variety indicated on the label.

Buildings

Monreale Cathedral

The most famous building is the Monreale Cathedral , a Norman building from the 12th century. It shows the symbiosis of Romanesque (building structure), Arabic ( blind arches , inlays on the outer walls, especially the apses ) and Byzantine (gold-ground mosaics on the inner walls) art that was widespread in Sicily at that time.

With around 6,340 m² of mosaic area from the 12th century, it is one of the most famous cathedrals in Sicily. The Romanesque cloister and the famous bronze gate of Pisano from 1186 are also particularly worth seeing. Every year around one million tourists visit this building.

The town hall dates from the 18th century and contains some valuable paintings. The mountain church was also built in the 18th century. Paintings by Marco Benefial can be seen in the 17th century Collegiata Church . The Collegio di Maria church has an octagonal floor plan.

The Castellaccio , a former castle of the Benedictine monks of Monreale, is located on Monte Caputo .

There is also a puppet theater and a historic old town in the Carmel district.

Population development

Number of inhabitants
year 1861 1871 1881 1901 1911 1921 1931 1936 1951 1959 1961 1971 1981 1991 2001 2004 2006 2010
Residents 13,268 13,492 16,585 19,829 16,890 20,630 18,111 19,578 22,526 23,700 23,676 23,720 23,874 26,256 23,964 28,700 35,765 38.204

Surroundings

Abbazia Di San Martino Delle Scale

San Martino delle Scale , a tourist resort, is about 10 km from Monreale. The name is derived from a Benedictine abbey there, which is said to have been founded by Pope Gregory I and was initially occupied by nuns. It was under the Archdiocese of Palermo.

Events

  • Church Music Week in November

Personalities

literature

  • Ernst Kitzinger: I Mosaici di Monreale . Palermo, 1960 (Flaccovio Editore)
  • The cathedral of Monreale-Führer , Graf Verlag 1980
  • Giuseppe Schirò: The Monreale Cathedral. The city of the golden house of God . 1998
  • Bianca Maria Alfieri (Editor): Italy. Cathedral and cloister of Monreale / Sicily (hardcover), Pawlak, Herrsch. (1989), ISBN 3-88199-596-X
  • Brigit Carnabuci: Sicily. Greek temples, Roman villas, Norman cathedrals and baroque cities in the center of the Mediterranean (=  DuMont art travel guide ). 6th, updated edition. DuMont Reiseverlag, Ostfildern 2011, ISBN 978-3-7701-4385-6 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Statistiche demografiche ISTAT. Monthly population statistics of the Istituto Nazionale di Statistica , as of December 31 of 2019.
  2. ↑ Disciplinare di Produzione della Denominazione di Origine Controllata (production regulations and description). (PDF) In: ismeamercati.it. November 27, 2017, accessed July 7, 2018 (Italian).
  3. ↑ Sicily ; Dorling Kindersley; London / New York / Munich / Melbourne, 2007/2008; P. 74
  4. ^ Meyers Neues Lexikon, VEB Bibliographisches Institut Leipzig, 1964
  5. ↑ The Brockhaus in 10 volumes ; FA Brockhaus, Leipzig Mannheim, 2005, ISBN 3-7653-2456-6
  6. ↑ Dieter Girgensohn , Italia Pontificia sive Repertorium privilegiorum et litterarum a Romanis pontificibus ante annum MCLXXXXVIII Italiae ecclesiis, monasteriis, civitatibus singulisque personis concessorum , t. X: Calabria - insulae . Zurich 1975, p. 241f.

Web links

Commons : Monreale  - album with pictures, videos and audio files