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.

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

A cloister of accentuated stylistic variety

A space between the visible and the invisible

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

Layers of different cultures decorate the external apses

The liturgical spaces of the protesis and the diaconicon

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

Porphyry sarcophagi: royalty and power

Squaring the circle

The cultural substrate through time

The Great Presbytery: a unique space for the cathedral

A mixture of styles pervades the floor decorations

Roger II of hauteville: a sovereign protected by God

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

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

The Gualtiero Cathedral

The southern portico

The king’s mark

The towers and the western facade

The stone bible

The rediscovered chapel

Mosaic decoration

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

The construction of Monreale Cathedral: between myth and history

The cemetery of kings

A chapel by an unknown designer based on repeated symmetries

Survey of the royal tombs

The beginning of the construction site

Worship services

A Northern population

The area of the Sanctuary

The side aisles

A polysemy of high-level artistic forms and content

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

The Bible carved in stone

Characteristics of religious architecture in the romanesque period

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

The Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene

Cefalù: settlement evidence through time

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

The towers facing the facade used as bell towers

Artistic elements in Peter’s ship

The balance between architecture and light

The chorus: beating heart of the cathedral

The lost chapel

Norman religious architecture with islamic influences in Sicily

The longest aisle

Gardens and architecture as a backdrop to the city of Palermo

Roger II’s strategic design

Palermo: the happiest city

The Kings’ Cathedrals

The Chapel of the Kings

The medieval city amidst monasticism and feudal aristocracy

The dialogue between the architectures of the monumental complex

The decorated facade

The Cathedral over the centuries

The transformations of the hall through the centuries

Under the crosses of the Bema

The original design

Beyond the harmony of proportions

A palimpsest of history

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

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

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

The mosaics of the apses

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

From the Mosque to the Cathedral

A remarkable ceiling

Ecclesia munita

The Virgin Hodegetria

A new Cathedral

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

The senses tell Context 1

The chapel of St. Benedict

A tree full of life

Interior decorations

Transformations over the centuries

The mosaics of the presbytery

The chystro: a place between earth and sky

Two initially similar towers, varied over time

A controversial interpretation

The chapel of san Castrense: an important renaissance work

The Great Restoration