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 liturgical spaces of the protesis and the diaconicon

The dialogue between the architectures of the monumental complex

The rediscovered chapel

Interior decorations

The southern portico

The decorated facade

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

The original design

The Kings’ Cathedrals

A Northern population

The king’s mark

Norman religious architecture with islamic influences in Sicily

Cefalù: settlement evidence through time

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

Beyond the harmony of proportions

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

The longest aisle

The transformations of the hall through the centuries

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

A tree full of life

The towers facing the facade used as bell towers

The side aisles

The Bible carved in stone

The Great Presbytery: a unique space for the cathedral

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

The towers and the western facade

The chorus: beating heart of the cathedral

The Chapel of the Kings

The chapel of St. Benedict

The mosaics of the presbytery

The area of the Sanctuary

Ecclesia munita

The stone bible

The chapel of san Castrense: an important renaissance work

A cloister of accentuated stylistic variety

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

A space between the visible and the invisible

Mosaic decoration

The lost chapel

The balance between architecture and light

Under the crosses of the Bema

The Great Restoration

Porphyry sarcophagi: royalty and power

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

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

The senses tell Context 1

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

A new Cathedral

Layers of different cultures decorate the external apses

The beginning of the construction site

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

The chystro: a place between earth and sky

A controversial interpretation

A chapel by an unknown designer based on repeated symmetries

The Virgin Hodegetria

The cultural substrate through time

Survey of the royal tombs

The medieval city amidst monasticism and feudal aristocracy

A polysemy of high-level artistic forms and content

Squaring the circle

Characteristics of religious architecture in the romanesque period

Worship services

The Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene

Gardens and architecture as a backdrop to the city of Palermo

Transformations over the centuries

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

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

The cemetery of kings

Two initially similar towers, varied over time

A remarkable ceiling

Roger II of hauteville: a sovereign protected by God

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

Palermo: the happiest city

Artistic elements in Peter’s ship

From the Mosque to the Cathedral

The construction of Monreale Cathedral: between myth and history

A mixture of styles pervades the floor decorations

The Gualtiero Cathedral

The Cathedral over the centuries

The mosaics of the apses

A palimpsest of history

Roger II’s strategic design