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 cultural substrate through time

A new Cathedral

The beginning of the construction site

Layers of different cultures decorate the external apses

The longest aisle

A chapel by an unknown designer based on repeated symmetries

The Gualtiero Cathedral

A space between the visible and the invisible

The rediscovered chapel

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

Artistic elements in Peter’s ship

The lost chapel

The king’s mark

The chystro: a place between earth and sky

Norman religious architecture with islamic influences in Sicily

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

A controversial interpretation

The chapel of St. Benedict

Squaring the circle

The side aisles

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

Roger II’s strategic design

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

From the Mosque to the Cathedral

The construction of Monreale Cathedral: between myth and history

The Cathedral over the centuries

The mosaics of the apses

Beyond the harmony of proportions

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

The cemetery of kings

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

Palermo: the happiest city

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

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

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

Two initially similar towers, varied over time

The stone bible

Gardens and architecture as a backdrop to the city of Palermo

The Great Presbytery: a unique space for the cathedral

The dialogue between the architectures of the monumental complex

The Bible carved in stone

A polysemy of high-level artistic forms and content

The Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene

Under the crosses of the Bema

Ecclesia munita

The medieval city amidst monasticism and feudal aristocracy

A Northern population

The towers and the western facade

The senses tell Context 1

The area of the Sanctuary

The liturgical spaces of the protesis and the diaconicon

The towers facing the facade used as bell towers

Roger II of hauteville: a sovereign protected by God

The mosaics of the presbytery

Interior decorations

Characteristics of religious architecture in the romanesque period

The Chapel of the Kings

The decorated facade

The chapel of san Castrense: an important renaissance work

A tree full of life

The Virgin Hodegetria

Survey of the royal tombs

Porphyry sarcophagi: royalty and power

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

Cefalù: settlement evidence through time

Mosaic decoration

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

A cloister of accentuated stylistic variety

A palimpsest of history

The Kings’ Cathedrals

The southern portico

A remarkable ceiling

The transformations of the hall through the centuries

Worship services

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

A mixture of styles pervades the floor decorations

The chorus: beating heart of the cathedral

Transformations over the centuries

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

The Great Restoration

The balance between architecture and light

The original design

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