Palermo Cathedral
The central body: the aisles

The Cathedral over the centuries

The common fate of most Romanesque churches was that they were transformed in the following centuries according to the style of the time. Some were profoundly modified and others were decorated with added compositions, without altering their original character.
A similar fate befell the Palermo Cathedral, which underwent numerous and varied transformations, restorations and embellishments from the 15th century until the early 18th century.These works did not change the structural characteristics of the building but simply added additional spaces for the clergy and for worship, sacristies and side chapels dedicated to the saints worshipped in the city. The interior walls were decorated with Baroque style frescoes and stucco work with garlands and wreaths, as well as other artistic works.
In the second half of the 18th century, the building was generally in poor condition and needed urgent work. Archbishop Filangeri and the Cathedral Chapter petitioned King Ferdinand IV of Bourbonto intervene “to restore decorum and dignity to the city’s mother church”.

Roger II of hauteville: a sovereign protected by God

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

Two initially similar towers, varied over time

The stone bible

The longest aisle

Palermo: the happiest city

A controversial interpretation

Gardens and architecture as a backdrop to the city of Palermo

The southern portico

The dialogue between the architectures of the monumental complex

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

Roger II’s strategic design

The Great Presbytery: a unique space for the cathedral

The Bible carved in stone

The cultural substrate through time

The chorus: beating heart of the cathedral

Mosaic decoration

The balance between architecture and light

The chapel of St. Benedict

Interior decorations

The Kings’ Cathedrals

The transformations of the hall through the centuries

The Cathedral over the centuries

The senses tell Context 1

A remarkable ceiling

A space between the visible and the invisible

The chystro: a place between earth and sky

The king’s mark

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

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

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

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

The original design

A new Cathedral

Transformations over the centuries

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

Under the crosses of the Bema

Characteristics of religious architecture in the romanesque period

The lost chapel

The Great Restoration

Artistic elements in Peter’s ship

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

Beyond the harmony of proportions

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

Norman religious architecture with islamic influences in Sicily

The side aisles

The towers and the western facade

The medieval city amidst monasticism and feudal aristocracy

The construction of Monreale Cathedral: between myth and history

The mosaics of the presbytery

Cefalù: settlement evidence through time

The area of the Sanctuary

The Virgin Hodegetria

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

A polysemy of high-level artistic forms and content

Ecclesia munita

The cemetery of kings

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

The towers facing the facade used as bell towers

The liturgical spaces of the protesis and the diaconicon

A mixture of styles pervades the floor decorations

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

Layers of different cultures decorate the external apses

The beginning of the construction site

The chapel of san Castrense: an important renaissance work

From the Mosque to the Cathedral

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

The decorated facade

Worship services

The Chapel of the Kings

A cloister of accentuated stylistic variety

Porphyry sarcophagi: royalty and power

A Northern population

The Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene

Survey of the royal tombs

The Gualtiero Cathedral

Squaring the circle

A tree full of life

The mosaics of the apses

The rediscovered chapel

A chapel by an unknown designer based on repeated symmetries

A palimpsest of history

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