If you see nothing in Sicily but the Capella Palatina and the Cathedral of Monreale, your trip will still be worth it.

Here there is no nakedness of grey stone, no heaviness of baroque ornaments. Saracen arches and muqarnas are covered everywhere by Byzantine mosaics, of such vibrant colours and glowing gold that they look as if they had been made only last week. 

Forget ‘gorgeous’. Forget ‘stunning’. Leave aside ‘breathtaking’. These are places where adjectives fail.