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.

Ecclesia munita

The senses tell Context 1

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

A polysemy of high-level artistic forms and content

The longest aisle

Palermo: the happiest city

A mixture of styles pervades the floor decorations

The mosaics of the presbytery

The stone bible

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

The cemetery of kings

Survey of the royal tombs

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

A space between the visible and the invisible

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

The beginning of the construction site

The chorus: beating heart of the cathedral

Beyond the harmony of proportions

The dialogue between the architectures of the monumental complex

The liturgical spaces of the protesis and the diaconicon

Layers of different cultures decorate the external apses

The medieval city amidst monasticism and feudal aristocracy

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

A remarkable ceiling

The mosaics of the apses

A cloister of accentuated stylistic variety

The lost chapel

The side aisles

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

Transformations over the centuries

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

Mosaic decoration

The chapel of St. Benedict

Artistic elements in Peter’s ship

Under the crosses of the Bema

The balance between architecture and light

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

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

Worship services

Gardens and architecture as a backdrop to the city of Palermo

Porphyry sarcophagi: royalty and power

The southern portico

The Great Restoration

The Virgin Hodegetria

The rediscovered chapel

A Northern population

The king’s mark

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

The Great Presbytery: a unique space for the cathedral

The Gualtiero Cathedral

The towers facing the facade used as bell towers

The cultural substrate through time

Characteristics of religious architecture in the romanesque period

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

The construction of Monreale Cathedral: between myth and history

The towers and the western facade

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

A tree full of life

A new Cathedral

The Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene

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

Roger II’s strategic design

The decorated facade

The chapel of san Castrense: an important renaissance work

The Chapel of the Kings

The transformations of the hall through the centuries

The chystro: a place between earth and sky

The Kings’ Cathedrals

From the Mosque to the Cathedral

Two initially similar towers, varied over time

Norman religious architecture with islamic influences in Sicily

Cefalù: settlement evidence through time

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

The area of the Sanctuary

A palimpsest of history

The original design

A controversial interpretation

The Cathedral over the centuries

The Bible carved in stone

Squaring the circle

Interior decorations

A chapel by an unknown designer based on repeated symmetries

Roger II of hauteville: a sovereign protected by God