Cefalù Cathedral
the church hall

A space between the visible and the invisible

A place of experimentation in the late Romanesque age, closely linked to the monumental buildings of the great European churches, the Cefalù Cathedral draws a definitive dividing line between the earliest phase of the architecture in Norman Sicily. Entering Roger’s Temple, a path leads up from the porta regum  to the apsidal basin , where we are enveloped by an east-facing basilica-like space with a Latin cross plan .
The atmosphere is charged with symbolic elements , inviting us to embark on exodal path from darkness to light, religiously represented by Christ’s Parousiastic return through the anticipatory Altar of the Eucharist .
The thickness of the walls, even of the rear elevation, seems to emphasise the desire to draw a definitive line between the spiritual space of the Cathedral and the material space of the outside world, where the only light entering is that coming from a multitude of windows. It caresses the architectural masses of the liturgical spaces through the vibrant modulation of the colours of the contemporary stained-glass windows , evocative of the mosaic ornamentation that was supposed to decorate nave , but was never produced.

Gardens and architecture as a backdrop to the city of Palermo

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

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

The Great Presbytery: a unique space for the cathedral

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

The construction of Monreale Cathedral: between myth and history

Survey of the royal tombs

A palimpsest of history

The Cathedral over the centuries

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

A Northern population

The Gualtiero Cathedral

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

The original design

The chapel of St. Benedict

The liturgical spaces of the protesis and the diaconicon

The dialogue between the architectures of the monumental complex

The beginning of the construction site

From the Mosque to the Cathedral

The side aisles

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

The cultural substrate through time

Transformations over the centuries

Palermo: the happiest city

Ecclesia munita

Characteristics of religious architecture in the romanesque period

Mosaic decoration

Under the crosses of the Bema

The decorated facade

Artistic elements in Peter’s ship

The chystro: a place between earth and sky

The Virgin Hodegetria

The towers facing the facade used as bell towers

Interior decorations

Cefalù: settlement evidence through time

Two initially similar towers, varied over time

Beyond the harmony of proportions

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

A tree full of life

The area of the Sanctuary

The Bible carved in stone

The king’s mark

The cemetery of kings

The Chapel of the Kings

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

Squaring the circle

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

Norman religious architecture with islamic influences in Sicily

The Great Restoration

The towers and the western facade

The Kings’ Cathedrals

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

The stone bible

Roger II’s strategic design

A space between the visible and the invisible

A new Cathedral

The lost chapel

The transformations of the hall through the centuries

A polysemy of high-level artistic forms and content

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

The senses tell Context 1

The mosaics of the presbytery

The balance between architecture and light

Porphyry sarcophagi: royalty and power

Roger II of hauteville: a sovereign protected by God

The longest aisle

The Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene

The medieval city amidst monasticism and feudal aristocracy

A cloister of accentuated stylistic variety

A chapel by an unknown designer based on repeated symmetries

A remarkable ceiling

Layers of different cultures decorate the external apses

A mixture of styles pervades the floor decorations

A controversial interpretation

Worship services

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

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

The chorus: beating heart of the cathedral

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

The southern portico

The mosaics of the apses

The rediscovered chapel

The chapel of san Castrense: an important renaissance work