Cefalù Cathedral
the chystro

Squaring the circle

Entering the cloister of Cefalù Cathedral not only means plunging into a path steeped in medieval art that seems to reawaken the different decorative motifs animating the capitals of the columns as we pass, but also being pervaded by an architecture of light.
In accordance with Christian symbolism, it is oriented so that each of its spaces is illuminated in a different way, following the orientation of the sun.
Following its itinerary, made up of the transcendence of the circle inserted in the immanence of the square, we are invited to embark on a spiritual journey of purification that begins where the light sets, symbolically linked to Adam and the Old Testament, and then reaches the New Testament dimension, pervaded by the radiance of the incarnation and the promise. Even the plants arranged in the garden have always represented an ascetic message, capable of enveloping those who walk through it in a sense of theophany that unfolds along the way.

A Northern population

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

Artistic elements in Peter’s ship

The cemetery of kings

The medieval city amidst monasticism and feudal aristocracy

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

The longest aisle

Interior decorations

The senses tell Context 1

The Great Presbytery: a unique space for the cathedral

A space between the visible and the invisible

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

The Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene

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

The cultural substrate through time

Transformations over the centuries

The mosaics of the presbytery

The towers facing the facade used as bell towers

The construction of Monreale Cathedral: between myth and history

The Virgin Hodegetria

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

The decorated facade

A polysemy of high-level artistic forms and content

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

Mosaic decoration

Gardens and architecture as a backdrop to the city of Palermo

The rediscovered chapel

Squaring the circle

The balance between architecture and light

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

Under the crosses of the Bema

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

The beginning of the construction site

Survey of the royal tombs

A cloister of accentuated stylistic variety

The original design

The side aisles

Ecclesia munita

The chapel of St. Benedict

The southern portico

Porphyry sarcophagi: royalty and power

Cefalù: settlement evidence through time

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

A palimpsest of history

A remarkable ceiling

The Bible carved in stone

Norman religious architecture with islamic influences in Sicily

The Chapel of the Kings

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

The stone bible

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

Two initially similar towers, varied over time

Beyond the harmony of proportions

The king’s mark

Characteristics of religious architecture in the romanesque period

The dialogue between the architectures of the monumental complex

The Cathedral over the centuries

A tree full of life

A mixture of styles pervades the floor decorations

A controversial interpretation

Worship services

The towers and the western facade

The chapel of san Castrense: an important renaissance work

Layers of different cultures decorate the external apses

The Great Restoration

From the Mosque to the Cathedral

The chystro: a place between earth and sky

Roger II of hauteville: a sovereign protected by God

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

The liturgical spaces of the protesis and the diaconicon

A chapel by an unknown designer based on repeated symmetries

The chorus: beating heart of the cathedral

The transformations of the hall through the centuries

A new Cathedral

The area of the Sanctuary

The lost chapel

The Kings’ Cathedrals

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

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

The Gualtiero Cathedral

Palermo: the happiest city

The mosaics of the apses

Roger II’s strategic design