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 senses tell Context 1

The area of the Sanctuary

Squaring the circle

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

From the Mosque to the Cathedral

A mixture of styles pervades the floor decorations

A chapel by an unknown designer based on repeated symmetries

The rediscovered chapel

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

The southern portico

The towers facing the facade used as bell towers

The Cathedral over the centuries

Cefalù: settlement evidence through time

The cultural substrate through time

The longest aisle

The Great Presbytery: a unique space for the cathedral

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

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

The towers and the western facade

A remarkable ceiling

The transformations of the hall through the centuries

The dialogue between the architectures of the monumental complex

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

Porphyry sarcophagi: royalty and power

The liturgical spaces of the protesis and the diaconicon

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

The stone bible

The lost chapel

A cloister of accentuated stylistic variety

The Virgin Hodegetria

Ecclesia munita

Layers of different cultures decorate the external apses

A polysemy of high-level artistic forms and content

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

The Gualtiero Cathedral

The chapel of san Castrense: an important renaissance work

Worship services

Survey of the royal tombs

A controversial interpretation

The Kings’ Cathedrals

The chorus: beating heart of the cathedral

The Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene

The balance between architecture and light

Roger II’s strategic design

The Bible carved in stone

The medieval city amidst monasticism and feudal aristocracy

The mosaics of the presbytery

Palermo: the happiest city

Characteristics of religious architecture in the romanesque period

The chystro: a place between earth and sky

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

The chapel of St. Benedict

A Northern population

The beginning of the construction site

A space between the visible and the invisible

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

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

Under the crosses of the Bema

Interior decorations

Mosaic decoration

Transformations over the centuries

A new Cathedral

Two initially similar towers, varied over time

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

Gardens and architecture as a backdrop to the city of Palermo

The Great Restoration

The original design

Roger II of hauteville: a sovereign protected by God

The mosaics of the apses

A palimpsest of history

The construction of Monreale Cathedral: between myth and history

The king’s mark

A tree full of life

The cemetery of kings

Beyond the harmony of proportions

Norman religious architecture with islamic influences in Sicily

The decorated facade

The Chapel of the Kings

The side aisles

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

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

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

Artistic elements in Peter’s ship