Cefalù Cathedral
context 3

The senses tell the context 3

sight
A majestic rock mass

The Cefalù Cathedral stands out on a terrace perched on the imposing rock mass stretching out towards the sea and embraced by the jagged peaks of the Sicilian Apennines between the Nebrodi and Madonie mountains. If we look at the rest of the landscape, a sequence of silhouettes comes to life, built at different times and hierarchically dependent on the cathedral. These include the cloister, the bishop’s palace, the seminary with its adjoining courtyard and the Turniale, which dates from a later period, and are distributed along the northern side of the church. The latter appears as a large embankment functioning as a churchyard, also used as a burial place.

A cloister of accentuated stylistic variety

The paradisiacal “Conca d’oro” that embraces Palermo: a name with countless faces through time

The construction of Monreale Cathedral: between myth and history

The plasticism of the main portico and Bonanno Pisano’s Monumental Bronze Door

From the main gate to the aisles: an invitation to a journey of faith

The area of the Sanctuary

Under the crosses of the Bema

The cultural substrate through time

Roger II’s strategic design

The rediscovered chapel

The transformations of the hall through the centuries

The king’s mark

Beyond the harmony of proportions

The southern portico

Biblical themes enlivened by the dazzling light of the stained – glass windows overlooking the naves

The chapel of St. Benedict

The marble portal: an intimate dialogue between complex ornamental aspects and formal structure

The lost chapel

The side aisles

A new Cathedral

Characteristics of religious architecture in the romanesque period

The towers facing the facade used as bell towers

Cefalù: settlement evidence through time

The Gualtiero Cathedral

The Cathedral over the centuries

Transformations over the centuries

The balance between architecture and light

The cemetery of kings

The chorus: beating heart of the cathedral

The decorated facade

The Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene

The Kings’ Cathedrals

The architectural modifications ti the cathedral building after the death of Roger II and the transformations of the cloister

The mosaics of the apses

The beginning of the construction site

The Great Restoration

Interior decorations

The liturgical spaces of the protesis and the diaconicon

The chapel of the crucifix: an artistic casket based on a previous model

Two initially similar towers, varied over time

The longest aisle

The mosaics of the presbytery

The senses tell Context 1

Porphyry sarcophagi: royalty and power

A Northern population

Roger II of hauteville: a sovereign protected by God

A compositional design that combines nordic examples with new artistic languages, over the centuries

The chystro: a place between earth and sky

The columns of the nave: the meticulous study of the overall order

The links between the hauteville family and the monastic orders in Sicily

The medieval city amidst monasticism and feudal aristocracy

Artistic elements in Peter’s ship

A palimpsest of history

A polysemy of high-level artistic forms and content

The side Portico: a combination of elegance and lightness of form

A controversial interpretation

From the Mosque to the Cathedral

Palermo: the happiest city

Layers of different cultures decorate the external apses

Norman religious architecture with islamic influences in Sicily

Ecclesia munita

The stone bible

The Cefalù cathedral: a construction yard undergoing a change between a surge of faith and control over the territory

A mixture of styles pervades the floor decorations

Worship services

The dialogue between the architectures of the monumental complex

A tree full of life

Thirteenth-century iconography decorates the nave’s wooden ceiling, designed with new solutions

The Virgin Hodegetria

Gardens and architecture as a backdrop to the city of Palermo

The Great Presbytery: a unique space for the cathedral

The towers and the western facade

Survey of the royal tombs

The Bible carved in stone

The original design

Squaring the circle

Mosaic decoration

A chapel by an unknown designer based on repeated symmetries

A remarkable ceiling

The chapel of san Castrense: an important renaissance work

A space between the visible and the invisible

The Chapel of the Kings

Tempus fugit: a strategic project implemented in a short period of time