Dome

Mosaic on the south wall of the transept, The Temptation of Christ and scene at the Well; The scheme of mosaics begins in the nave with the Creation and subsequent Old Testament scenes, progresses to the Life of Christ in the crossing, transepts and nave aisles, and culminates in the apse with a hieratic array consisting of Christ Pantokrator with his heavenly court. The programme imitates many features of the mosaic decoration of the Cappella Palatina in Palermo, but it is more expansive; and in the absence of a cupola, the main apse and presbytery form the sole theological centre. Although the style of the mosaics is Byzantine, almost all the inscriptions are in Latin, not Greek, and the disposition of the scenes in unbroken friezes is contrary to Byzantine practice. At Monreale the walls are covered with images: the surfaces not containing the main scenes--piers, soffits and spandrels--bear prophets, saints and angels. The New Testament scenes form the largest surviving monumental New Testament cycle in either East or West. Source: Grove Art Online; http://www.groveart.com/ (accessed 2/1/2008)