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.

The senses tell Context 1

Survey of the royal tombs

The Great Presbytery: a unique space for the cathedral

The Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene

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

A controversial interpretation

The Cathedral over the centuries

The Bible carved in stone

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

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

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

Under the crosses of the Bema

A chapel by an unknown designer based on repeated symmetries

The chapel of St. Benedict

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

The beginning of the construction site

Transformations over the centuries

The dialogue between the architectures of the monumental complex

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

The towers facing the facade used as bell towers

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

A mixture of styles pervades the floor decorations

From the Mosque to the Cathedral

Two initially similar towers, varied over time

Mosaic decoration

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

The longest aisle

Beyond the harmony of proportions

The Great Restoration

The cultural substrate through time

A cloister of accentuated stylistic variety

Roger II of hauteville: a sovereign protected by God

The lost chapel

The area of the Sanctuary

The original design

A new Cathedral

The towers and the western facade

A polysemy of high-level artistic forms and content

Layers of different cultures decorate the external apses

Gardens and architecture as a backdrop to the city of Palermo

The southern portico

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

The cemetery of kings

Porphyry sarcophagi: royalty and power

The liturgical spaces of the protesis and the diaconicon

The Gualtiero Cathedral

Interior decorations

Characteristics of religious architecture in the romanesque period

A tree full of life

The decorated facade

The transformations of the hall through the centuries

Artistic elements in Peter’s ship

Norman religious architecture with islamic influences in Sicily

A palimpsest of history

Cefalù: settlement evidence through time

Roger II’s strategic design

Palermo: the happiest city

A Northern population

Ecclesia munita

The Virgin Hodegetria

The Kings’ Cathedrals

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

The chorus: beating heart of the cathedral

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

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

The king’s mark

The chystro: a place between earth and sky

The balance between architecture and light

The stone bible

Squaring the circle

The mosaics of the apses

The Chapel of the Kings

The construction of Monreale Cathedral: between myth and history

The rediscovered chapel

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

A remarkable ceiling

The medieval city amidst monasticism and feudal aristocracy

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

The chapel of san Castrense: an important renaissance work

The mosaics of the presbytery

Worship services

The side aisles