Monreale Cathedral
the context 2

The senses tell Context 2

sight
An important construction site

A building such as the Monreale Cathedral, outlined by a multiform stylistic syncretism, reflected a deep religious implication promoted by William II. The ruler succeeded in consolidating the Western Christian influence through a fruitful and peaceful dialogue with the Byzantine-Oriental and Muslim-Arab cultures from the very year of his coronation in 1172. Alongside the Cathedral, surrounded by a flourishing natural setting, work began on the foundation of the Royal Palace in the same year, followed in 1176 by the construction of the Benedictine Monastery adjacent to it.

The rediscovered chapel

A mixture of styles pervades the floor decorations

The balance between architecture and light

Worship services

The cultural substrate through time

Roger II of hauteville: a sovereign protected by God

A Northern population

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

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

A cloister of accentuated stylistic variety

Survey of the royal tombs

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

Mosaic decoration

Beyond the harmony of proportions

Characteristics of religious architecture in the romanesque period

Porphyry sarcophagi: royalty and power

The mosaics of the presbytery

A remarkable ceiling

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

Gardens and architecture as a backdrop to the city of Palermo

A palimpsest of history

Squaring the circle

Layers of different cultures decorate the external apses

The dialogue between the architectures of the monumental complex

The Bible carved in stone

Ecclesia munita

The original design

The cemetery of kings

Palermo: the happiest city

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

The chystro: a place between earth and sky

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

The Chapel of the Kings

The Great Presbytery: a unique space for the cathedral

The stone bible

The decorated facade

The transformations of the hall through the centuries

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

The chapel of san Castrense: an important renaissance work

The lost chapel

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

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

A new Cathedral

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

The beginning of the construction site

The medieval city amidst monasticism and feudal aristocracy

Two initially similar towers, varied over time

The chorus: beating heart of the cathedral

The Kings’ Cathedrals

Cefalù: settlement evidence through time

The area of the Sanctuary

A chapel by an unknown designer based on repeated symmetries

From the Mosque to the Cathedral

The chapel of St. Benedict

Under the crosses of the Bema

The Cathedral over the centuries

A polysemy of high-level artistic forms and content

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

Artistic elements in Peter’s ship

The liturgical spaces of the protesis and the diaconicon

A controversial interpretation

The Virgin Hodegetria

The construction of Monreale Cathedral: between myth and history

The Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene

The Gualtiero Cathedral

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

The towers facing the facade used as bell towers

The mosaics of the apses

Norman religious architecture with islamic influences in Sicily

Transformations over the centuries

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

The Great Restoration

A space between the visible and the invisible

Interior decorations

The king’s mark

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

The senses tell Context 1

Roger II’s strategic design

The southern portico

A tree full of life

The longest aisle

The towers and the western facade

The side aisles