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.

The balance between architecture and light

The towers and the western facade

Survey of the royal tombs

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

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

Gardens and architecture as a backdrop to the city of Palermo

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

The Great Presbytery: a unique space for the cathedral

Squaring the circle

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

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

Under the crosses of the Bema

Transformations over the centuries

Worship services

A mixture of styles pervades the floor decorations

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

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

A tree full of life

Roger II of hauteville: a sovereign protected by God

A chapel by an unknown designer based on repeated symmetries

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

The longest aisle

The Kings’ Cathedrals

From the Mosque to the Cathedral

The decorated facade

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

The lost chapel

The area of the Sanctuary

The chystro: a place between earth and sky

The Gualtiero Cathedral

The original design

A space between the visible and the invisible

The chapel of san Castrense: an important renaissance work

The chapel of St. Benedict

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

The Bible carved in stone

Layers of different cultures decorate the external apses

The medieval city amidst monasticism and feudal aristocracy

The liturgical spaces of the protesis and the diaconicon

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

Mosaic decoration

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

Interior decorations

A Northern population

Cefalù: settlement evidence through time

A new Cathedral

The transformations of the hall through the centuries

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

The southern portico

Beyond the harmony of proportions

A remarkable ceiling

The construction of Monreale Cathedral: between myth and history

A polysemy of high-level artistic forms and content

The Virgin Hodegetria

The Great Restoration

Porphyry sarcophagi: royalty and power

The dialogue between the architectures of the monumental complex

The cemetery of kings

Roger II’s strategic design

A controversial interpretation

The king’s mark

The towers facing the facade used as bell towers

A cloister of accentuated stylistic variety

Artistic elements in Peter’s ship

Palermo: the happiest city

The side aisles

The chorus: beating heart of the cathedral

The senses tell Context 1

The beginning of the construction site

The Chapel of the Kings

The mosaics of the apses

The stone bible

Ecclesia munita

The mosaics of the presbytery

The cultural substrate through time

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

Two initially similar towers, varied over time

Characteristics of religious architecture in the romanesque period

A palimpsest of history

Norman religious architecture with islamic influences in Sicily

The rediscovered chapel

The Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene

The Cathedral over the centuries