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 southern portico

The rediscovered chapel

The Kings’ Cathedrals

The Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene

From the Mosque to the Cathedral

The towers and the western facade

Squaring the circle

The cemetery of kings

Norman religious architecture with islamic influences in Sicily

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

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

Characteristics of religious architecture in the romanesque period

The medieval city amidst monasticism and feudal aristocracy

Ecclesia munita

A chapel by an unknown designer based on repeated symmetries

The liturgical spaces of the protesis and the diaconicon

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

The chorus: beating heart of the cathedral

Interior decorations

A Northern population

The Chapel of the Kings

Roger II of hauteville: a sovereign protected by God

The Great Restoration

Beyond the harmony of proportions

The stone bible

The decorated facade

The cultural substrate through time

The mosaics of the apses

Gardens and architecture as a backdrop to the city of Palermo

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

Cefalù: settlement evidence through time

Two initially similar towers, varied over time

The original design

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

The lost chapel

The senses tell Context 1

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

A polysemy of high-level artistic forms and content

The dialogue between the architectures of the monumental complex

Survey of the royal tombs

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

Roger II’s strategic design

The side aisles

Palermo: the happiest city

The chystro: a place between earth and sky

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

A cloister of accentuated stylistic variety

The Gualtiero Cathedral

Mosaic decoration

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

The chapel of san Castrense: an important renaissance work

Under the crosses of the Bema

The transformations of the hall through the centuries

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

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

The construction of Monreale Cathedral: between myth and history

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

The Virgin Hodegetria

Worship services

A space between the visible and the invisible

The towers facing the facade used as bell towers

A new Cathedral

The king’s mark

A palimpsest of history

Transformations over the centuries

A tree full of life

The Cathedral over the centuries

The beginning of the construction site

The Bible carved in stone

A mixture of styles pervades the floor decorations

Layers of different cultures decorate the external apses

The balance between architecture and light

A remarkable ceiling

A controversial interpretation

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

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

Porphyry sarcophagi: royalty and power

The chapel of St. Benedict

The Great Presbytery: a unique space for the cathedral

The mosaics of the presbytery

The area of the Sanctuary

Artistic elements in Peter’s ship

The longest aisle