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

Characteristics of religious architecture in the romanesque period

Transformations over the centuries

The Cathedral over the centuries

The towers and the western facade

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

The towers facing the facade used as bell towers

The transformations of the hall through the centuries

The construction of Monreale Cathedral: between myth and history

A controversial interpretation

Roger II’s strategic design

The chapel of St. Benedict

Mosaic decoration

Worship services

The cemetery of kings

A new Cathedral

The southern portico

A cloister of accentuated stylistic variety

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

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

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

A Northern population

Cefalù: settlement evidence through time

The Great Restoration

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

The mosaics of the apses

The chystro: a place between earth and sky

The Great Presbytery: a unique space for the cathedral

Roger II of hauteville: a sovereign protected by God

Interior decorations

Squaring the circle

The side aisles

Artistic elements in Peter’s ship

The original design

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

The senses tell Context 1

A chapel by an unknown designer based on repeated symmetries

The area of the Sanctuary

The dialogue between the architectures of the monumental complex

Layers of different cultures decorate the external apses

A tree full of life

The chorus: beating heart of the cathedral

Gardens and architecture as a backdrop to the city of Palermo

The Chapel of the Kings

From the Mosque to the Cathedral

A polysemy of high-level artistic forms and content

A palimpsest of history

The Virgin Hodegetria

The longest aisle

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

Norman religious architecture with islamic influences in Sicily

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

The Bible carved in stone

The cultural substrate through time

Beyond the harmony of proportions

A mixture of styles pervades the floor decorations

The mosaics of the presbytery

Ecclesia munita

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

The beginning of the construction site

The rediscovered chapel

A space between the visible and the invisible

A remarkable ceiling

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

The decorated facade

Porphyry sarcophagi: royalty and power

The Gualtiero Cathedral

The medieval city amidst monasticism and feudal aristocracy

The king’s mark

Survey of the royal tombs

Palermo: the happiest city

The Kings’ Cathedrals

The chapel of san Castrense: an important renaissance work

The Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene

The lost chapel

The stone bible

The liturgical spaces of the protesis and the diaconicon

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

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

Under the crosses of the Bema

Two initially similar towers, varied over time

The balance between architecture and light