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.

Two initially similar towers, varied over time

A chapel by an unknown designer based on repeated symmetries

The chorus: beating heart of the cathedral

The rediscovered chapel

A controversial interpretation

The lost chapel

The Kings’ Cathedrals

Under the crosses of the Bema

The construction of Monreale Cathedral: between myth and history

The Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene

Artistic elements in Peter’s ship

The Chapel of the Kings

The southern portico

Roger II’s strategic design

A new Cathedral

Worship services

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

The chystro: a place between earth and sky

A mixture of styles pervades the floor decorations

The balance between architecture and light

Norman religious architecture with islamic influences in Sicily

The chapel of san Castrense: an important renaissance work

The chapel of St. Benedict

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

The decorated facade

The king’s mark

The mosaics of the apses

A polysemy of high-level artistic forms and content

The towers and the western facade

The medieval city amidst monasticism and feudal aristocracy

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

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

A Northern population

The mosaics of the presbytery

The Great Presbytery: a unique space for the cathedral

Transformations over the centuries

Survey of the royal tombs

A space between the visible and the invisible

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

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

Mosaic decoration

The Gualtiero Cathedral

The stone bible

The Bible carved in stone

The towers facing the facade used as bell towers

From the Mosque to the Cathedral

The beginning of the construction site

Beyond the harmony of proportions

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

The area of the Sanctuary

The Great Restoration

The dialogue between the architectures of the monumental complex

The original design

The Virgin Hodegetria

The Cathedral over the centuries

Ecclesia munita

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

The transformations of the hall through the centuries

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

The senses tell Context 1

Palermo: the happiest city

Squaring the circle

Porphyry sarcophagi: royalty and power

Cefalù: settlement evidence through time

Layers of different cultures decorate the external apses

Roger II of hauteville: a sovereign protected by God

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

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

The cemetery of kings

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

A tree full of life

A cloister of accentuated stylistic variety

Interior decorations

A remarkable ceiling

The longest aisle

A palimpsest of history

The cultural substrate through time

The liturgical spaces of the protesis and the diaconicon

Characteristics of religious architecture in the romanesque period

The side aisles

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