“It's pure beauty” – Italy's largest medieval mosaic restored

On a hill overlooking the city of Palermo, in Sicily, lies a lesser-known jewel of Italian art: the Cathedral of Monreale.

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

Now, the UNESCO World Heritage site has undergone an extensive restoration to return it to its former glory.

Monreal's mosaics were intended to impress, humble and inspire the visitor who walked through the central nave, in the fashion of Constantinople, the surviving capital of the Roman Empire in the East.

It covers an area of ​​more than 6,400 square meters and contains about 2.2 kg of pure gold.

The restoration took more than a year, by which time the cathedral had been transformed into part of a construction site, with a maze of scaffolding erected over the altar and transept.

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

They then repaired some tiles that had lost their enamel and gold leaf, making them look like black spots underneath.

Finally, they stepped in and installed the areas where tiles were peeling from the wall.

Father Nicola Gallio says working on the mosaics was a challenge and a great responsibility.

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

“The team approached this work almost tiptoe,” Lee said.

“Occasionally, there were some unexpected issues and they had to pause operations until they found a solution.

“For example, when they got to the ceiling, they realized that in the past it had been covered with a layer of varnish that had turned yellow. They had to peel it off, quite literally, like a 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,” says Matteo Kundari. “The light was low, the energy costs were through the roof, and it didn't do justice to the beauty of the mosaics in any way.”

He's the director of Zumtobel, the company tasked with installing the new lights.

“The main challenge was making sure to highlight the mosaics and create something that met the different 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.”

The cost of this first tranche of business is 1.1 million euros. A second apartment focusing on the central courtyard is being planned next.

I asked Father Gaglio how I felt when I saw the scaffolding finally taken down and the mosaics sparkling in their new light. He laughs and shrugs.

“When you see it, you're in awe and you can't think of anything. It's pure beauty,” he says.

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