Cefalù Cathedral
the facade and the portico

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

Even to this day, when we look at the Cathedral of Cefalù, we can see the gradual architectural transformations forged over time, compared to the original site of Roger, unlike the plan of the building that has remained almost completely unchanged. It displays a subtle dialogue with the norman buildings of Mazara and Miletus , built half a century earlier at the behest of the Great Count Roger .
Both sovereigns also looked at Benedictine-Cluniac planimetric schemes , traceable to Cluny II (950 – 975), which had been influential across Europe, from Normandy to southern Italy.
History tells us, thanks to documents, of the relationship between Roger II , Abbot Suger of Saint Denis and Peter of Cluny , with regard to the first construction phase of the basilica, which can be traced back to the foundation in 1131. From this year, the site was extended in four periods over the centuries. From 1131 to 1145, the founding ruler of the establishment, the Basilica-Cathedral, aimed to reorganise the Sicilian dioceses by endowing Cefalù with a bishop.From 1145, the year of the king’s death, two porphyry sarcophagi were placed in the Basilica – Mausoleum for his burial. At the same time, the already established factory was embellished with the addition of mosaics. Between 1154 and 1170, work continued on an incomplete project, which was further aggravated by the now faint hope of receiving the remains of the sovereign in the Basilica. From the episcopate of Arduino II , the last phase began in 1223 and lasted until the final consecration of the Temple, which took place in 1267, at the same time as that of Monreale. At that time, the Cathedral did not reflect the ambitious design of its founder.
Even today, it remains unfinished and resized when compared to Roger’s project, starting from the lowered heights and the different volumes, not to mention the gaps in the external architectural elements. The building’s plan features a balanced volumetric synthesis aimed at emphasizing the continuous dialogue between inside and outside, a metaphor for the relationship between visible and otherworldly space. The Cathedral’s elevations were constructed using through simple static masses, starting from the eastern part and continuing towards the west. They narratively describe the mixture of Sicilian architectural experimentation combined with external multiple influences. Thanks to this combination, the late Norman age in Sicily was characterised from an architectural standpoint by a synthesis between atmospheric interiority and renewed linguistic styles.

A remarkable ceiling

Survey of the royal tombs

The mosaics of the apses

Cefalù: settlement evidence through time

The Great Presbytery: a unique space for the cathedral

The dialogue between the architectures of the monumental complex

The cemetery of kings

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

The Kings’ Cathedrals

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

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

A palimpsest of history

The construction of Monreale Cathedral: between myth and history

The king’s mark

Ecclesia munita

The area of the Sanctuary

Transformations over the centuries

The original design

Under the crosses of the Bema

The Virgin Hodegetria

The transformations of the hall through the centuries

A controversial interpretation

The Bible carved in stone

Two initially similar towers, varied over time

Porphyry sarcophagi: royalty and power

Palermo: the happiest city

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

Beyond the harmony of proportions

The longest aisle

Squaring the circle

The decorated facade

The senses tell Context 1

Mosaic decoration

Gardens and architecture as a backdrop to the city of Palermo

The stone bible

The cultural substrate through time

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

The Great Restoration

The Cathedral over the centuries

A chapel by an unknown designer based on repeated symmetries

A polysemy of high-level artistic forms and content

Interior decorations

The lost chapel

A space between the visible and the invisible

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

Roger II of hauteville: a sovereign protected by God

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

Worship services

A cloister of accentuated stylistic variety

The medieval city amidst monasticism and feudal aristocracy

The chystro: a place between earth and sky

Norman religious architecture with islamic influences in Sicily

Layers of different cultures decorate the external apses

Roger II’s strategic design

Artistic elements in Peter’s ship

The southern portico

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

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

The chapel of St. Benedict

The rediscovered chapel

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

The chapel of san Castrense: an important renaissance work

A Northern population

The towers and the western facade

The towers facing the facade used as bell towers

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

A mixture of styles pervades the floor decorations

A new Cathedral

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

The chorus: beating heart of the cathedral

A tree full of life

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

The side aisles

The Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene

The mosaics of the presbytery

The balance between architecture and light

The liturgical spaces of the protesis and the diaconicon

The Chapel of the Kings

The beginning of the construction site

From the Mosque to the Cathedral

Characteristics of religious architecture in the romanesque period

The Gualtiero Cathedral