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 towers facing the facade used as bell towers

The decorated facade

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

Mosaic decoration

A polysemy of high-level artistic forms and content

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

A controversial interpretation

Palermo: the happiest city

The mosaics of the apses

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

The transformations of the hall through the centuries

Artistic elements in Peter’s ship

A remarkable ceiling

The southern portico

The construction of Monreale Cathedral: between myth and history

Characteristics of religious architecture in the romanesque period

A palimpsest of history

The beginning of the construction site

Porphyry sarcophagi: royalty and power

The chorus: beating heart of the cathedral

The cemetery of kings

A tree full of life

The side aisles

The area of the Sanctuary

The Great Restoration

Cefalù: settlement evidence through time

Squaring the circle

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

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

The king’s mark

Worship services

The chapel of san Castrense: an important renaissance work

The original design

The cultural substrate through time

Gardens and architecture as a backdrop to the city of Palermo

Under the crosses of the Bema

A mixture of styles pervades the floor decorations

A cloister of accentuated stylistic variety

The towers and the western facade

The chapel of St. Benedict

The lost chapel

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

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

The mosaics of the presbytery

The rediscovered chapel

The stone bible

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

A new Cathedral

The balance between architecture and light

A space between the visible and the invisible

Ecclesia munita

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

The longest aisle

The Cathedral over the centuries

The Kings’ Cathedrals

Interior decorations

The Great Presbytery: a unique space for the cathedral

The senses tell Context 1

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

The liturgical spaces of the protesis and the diaconicon

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

Two initially similar towers, varied over time

Norman religious architecture with islamic influences in Sicily

The chystro: a place between earth and sky

The Chapel of the Kings

From the Mosque to the Cathedral

A Northern population

Transformations over the centuries

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

Roger II of hauteville: a sovereign protected by God

The dialogue between the architectures of the monumental complex

The Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene

The Virgin Hodegetria

Beyond the harmony of proportions

Survey of the royal tombs

The medieval city amidst monasticism and feudal aristocracy

Roger II’s strategic design

The Gualtiero Cathedral

A chapel by an unknown designer based on repeated symmetries

The Bible carved in stone

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

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

Layers of different cultures decorate the external apses