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 longest aisle

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

The stone bible

The rediscovered chapel

The beginning of the construction site

Roger II of hauteville: a sovereign protected by God

A chapel by an unknown designer based on repeated symmetries

A tree full of life

Ecclesia munita

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

The king’s mark

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

The transformations of the hall through the centuries

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

The Great Restoration

The mosaics of the apses

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

Gardens and architecture as a backdrop to the city of Palermo

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

The cemetery of kings

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

The liturgical spaces of the protesis and the diaconicon

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

The dialogue between the architectures of the monumental complex

From the Mosque to the Cathedral

Palermo: the happiest city

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

Mosaic decoration

The decorated facade

A polysemy of high-level artistic forms and content

Beyond the harmony of proportions

The Virgin Hodegetria

The chorus: beating heart of the cathedral

The cultural substrate through time

Characteristics of religious architecture in the romanesque period

The towers facing the facade used as bell towers

Porphyry sarcophagi: royalty and power

Norman religious architecture with islamic influences in Sicily

The Gualtiero Cathedral

The senses tell Context 1

The side aisles

The mosaics of the presbytery

The original design

Roger II’s strategic design

Under the crosses of the Bema

The Bible carved in stone

The southern portico

A palimpsest of history

Squaring the circle

The Kings’ Cathedrals

A new Cathedral

The Chapel of the Kings

Transformations over the centuries

The balance between architecture and light

Worship services

The area of the Sanctuary

Cefalù: settlement evidence through time

A space between the visible and the invisible

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

A Northern population

The Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene

A controversial interpretation

Artistic elements in Peter’s ship

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

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

The Cathedral over the centuries

A remarkable ceiling

The towers and the western facade

A mixture of styles pervades the floor decorations

The chapel of St. Benedict

The lost chapel

Survey of the royal tombs

The construction of Monreale Cathedral: between myth and history

Layers of different cultures decorate the external apses

The chapel of san Castrense: an important renaissance work

A cloister of accentuated stylistic variety

The chystro: a place between earth and sky

Two initially similar towers, varied over time

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

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

The medieval city amidst monasticism and feudal aristocracy

The Great Presbytery: a unique space for the cathedral

Interior decorations