Palermo Cathedral
The Context 2

A palimpsest of history

The Cathedral is located in the centre, in the heart of the ancient city, in an elevated position, close to the Royal Palace, to which it was connected by a covered street. There is a large open space on the southern front, which is now enclosed by a balustrade.
This large square is not a simple churchyard or garden, but a tangible sign of what was once Palermo’s great Friday Mosque and was intended to form the large porticoed courtyard adjacent to it.
This was, in fact, an atrium, originally enclosed on three sides by high walls, surrounded by porticoed arches and with two fountains in the centre. Until the middle of the 16th century, the fair of Santa Cristina was held there. In the 16th century, when the decision was made to demolish the walls and create an open space, bordered by an elegant balustrade, the two fountains which are still visible today, which are probably the remains of the fountains for the ablutions of the faithful in the ancient Mosque, were kept as a memorial.
This is supported by the anomalous position of Palermo Cathedral, which is not canonically oriented on the west-east axis towards the apse, but on the south-west-north-east axis, where its façade, which faces south, is actually directed towards Mecca .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Inside the church, on this façade, recent restorations have unearthed one of the probable seven al-mihrab indicating the direction of Mecca. Other parts of the ancient Mosque were found, and reused in the renovation of the Cathedral, as was the custom of the time, as witnessed by a column in the southern portico, which has a verse from the Surah of the Qur’an .

Today’s cathedral has undergone many changes over the years, especially at the end of the 18th century, when the architect Ferdinando Fuga completely altered the style of the cathedral, both inside to conform to the new taste of the neoclassical style and outside with additions and modifications, including the massive transept, the large dome and the small domes.These changes have made the Palermo Cathedral an admirable palimpsest. Its beauty lies in the various stylistic overlaps, which make it a unique work of art. In its stones, where the evolution of time can be read, the history of this very happy city is engraved.

The chapel of St. Benedict

Layers of different cultures decorate the external apses

Characteristics of religious architecture in the romanesque period

The Chapel of the Kings

A mixture of styles pervades the floor decorations

A new Cathedral

The longest aisle

The chorus: beating heart of the cathedral

The dialogue between the architectures of the monumental complex

The cultural substrate through time

Ecclesia munita

The area of the Sanctuary

The lost chapel

A Northern population

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

Transformations over the centuries

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

The beginning of the construction site

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

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

The Virgin Hodegetria

The stone bible

The transformations of the hall through the centuries

The cemetery of kings

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

Gardens and architecture as a backdrop to the city of Palermo

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

Palermo: the happiest city

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

The Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene

The Kings’ Cathedrals

A remarkable ceiling

Cefalù: settlement evidence through time

The Great Presbytery: a unique space for the cathedral

The balance between architecture and light

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

Survey of the royal tombs

The original design

The Great Restoration

A cloister of accentuated stylistic variety

Worship services

Roger II of hauteville: a sovereign protected by God

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

The southern portico

The mosaics of the apses

The senses tell Context 1

Mosaic decoration

A tree full of life

Interior decorations

The decorated facade

The mosaics of the presbytery

Artistic elements in Peter’s ship

The king’s mark

Beyond the harmony of proportions

A space between the visible and the invisible

The medieval city amidst monasticism and feudal aristocracy

The chystro: a place between earth and sky

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

The liturgical spaces of the protesis and the diaconicon

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

The towers facing the facade used as bell towers

Under the crosses of the Bema

The construction of Monreale Cathedral: between myth and history

The towers and the western facade

A polysemy of high-level artistic forms and content

The Gualtiero Cathedral

The chapel of san Castrense: an important renaissance work

Roger II’s strategic design

Norman religious architecture with islamic influences in Sicily

Porphyry sarcophagi: royalty and power

The rediscovered chapel

Two initially similar towers, varied over time

From the Mosque to the Cathedral

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

The Bible carved in stone

A palimpsest of history

The side aisles

A controversial interpretation

A chapel by an unknown designer based on repeated symmetries

Squaring the circle

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

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

The Cathedral over the centuries