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 controversial interpretation

The decorated facade

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

The chorus: beating heart of the cathedral

The Great Restoration

A chapel by an unknown designer based on repeated symmetries

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

The Chapel of the Kings

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

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

A palimpsest of history

The beginning of the construction site

The Bible carved in stone

Cefalù: settlement evidence through time

The Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene

The Virgin Hodegetria

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

The liturgical spaces of the protesis and the diaconicon

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

The cemetery of kings

The balance between architecture and light

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

A mixture of styles pervades the floor decorations

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

Artistic elements in Peter’s ship

The area of the Sanctuary

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

Porphyry sarcophagi: royalty and power

The southern portico

The cultural substrate through time

A tree full of life

Two initially similar towers, varied over time

Roger II’s strategic design

A polysemy of high-level artistic forms and content

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

The side aisles

Under the crosses of the Bema

Squaring the circle

Survey of the royal tombs

The dialogue between the architectures of the monumental complex

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

Characteristics of religious architecture in the romanesque period

The chapel of san Castrense: an important renaissance work

Ecclesia munita

The senses tell Context 1

The king’s mark

Layers of different cultures decorate the external apses

The Great Presbytery: a unique space for the cathedral

A new Cathedral

The original design

From the Mosque to the Cathedral

Worship services

Interior decorations

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

The construction of Monreale Cathedral: between myth and history

The stone bible

The transformations of the hall through the centuries

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

The mosaics of the presbytery

The mosaics of the apses

Mosaic decoration

A space between the visible and the invisible

The chapel of St. Benedict

A cloister of accentuated stylistic variety

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

Beyond the harmony of proportions

The towers and the western facade

Norman religious architecture with islamic influences in Sicily

Gardens and architecture as a backdrop to the city of Palermo

The medieval city amidst monasticism and feudal aristocracy

The Gualtiero Cathedral

Palermo: the happiest city

A Northern population

Roger II of hauteville: a sovereign protected by God

The chystro: a place between earth and sky

The Cathedral over the centuries

The Kings’ Cathedrals

The lost chapel

Transformations over the centuries

A remarkable ceiling

The longest aisle

The rediscovered chapel

The towers facing the facade used as bell towers