Cefalù Cathedral
context 3

The senses tell the context 3

sight
A majestic rock mass

The Cefalù Cathedral stands out on a terrace perched on the imposing rock mass stretching out towards the sea and embraced by the jagged peaks of the Sicilian Apennines between the Nebrodi and Madonie mountains. If we look at the rest of the landscape, a sequence of silhouettes comes to life, built at different times and hierarchically dependent on the cathedral. These include the cloister, the bishop’s palace, the seminary with its adjoining courtyard and the Turniale, which dates from a later period, and are distributed along the northern side of the church. The latter appears as a large embankment functioning as a churchyard, also used as a burial place.

The cultural substrate through time

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

The Bible carved in stone

Ecclesia munita

Transformations over the centuries

The senses tell Context 1

The towers and the western facade

Gardens and architecture as a backdrop to the city of Palermo

A Northern population

A space between the visible and the invisible

The chystro: a place between earth and sky

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

Squaring the circle

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

Porphyry sarcophagi: royalty and power

A palimpsest of history

The rediscovered chapel

The liturgical spaces of the protesis and the diaconicon

The Gualtiero Cathedral

Layers of different cultures decorate the external apses

The medieval city amidst monasticism and feudal aristocracy

The transformations of the hall through the centuries

A remarkable ceiling

The Kings’ Cathedrals

The beginning of the construction site

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

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

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

The Virgin Hodegetria

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

Roger II’s strategic design

The mosaics of the apses

The southern portico

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

The mosaics of the presbytery

The king’s mark

The stone bible

Survey of the royal tombs

The Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene

A polysemy of high-level artistic forms and content

A chapel by an unknown designer based on repeated symmetries

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

The construction of Monreale Cathedral: between myth and history

A new Cathedral

A cloister of accentuated stylistic variety

Interior decorations

The decorated facade

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

Cefalù: settlement evidence through time

Two initially similar towers, varied over time

The original design

Artistic elements in Peter’s ship

The Chapel of the Kings

Palermo: the happiest city

Characteristics of religious architecture in the romanesque period

From the Mosque to the Cathedral

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

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

The lost chapel

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

The area of the Sanctuary

The balance between architecture and light

Norman religious architecture with islamic influences in Sicily

Roger II of hauteville: a sovereign protected by God

Worship services

A mixture of styles pervades the floor decorations

Mosaic decoration

The chapel of san Castrense: an important renaissance work

A controversial interpretation

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

The Great Presbytery: a unique space for the cathedral

Beyond the harmony of proportions

Under the crosses of the Bema

The chorus: beating heart of the cathedral

The cemetery of kings

The Great Restoration

The dialogue between the architectures of the monumental complex

The side aisles

A tree full of life

The longest aisle

The towers facing the facade used as bell towers

The chapel of St. Benedict

The Cathedral over the centuries