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 Kings’ Cathedrals

The Chapel of the Kings

The cemetery of kings

The Cathedral over the centuries

The chorus: beating heart of the cathedral

A controversial interpretation

Transformations over the centuries

Roger II of hauteville: a sovereign protected by God

Two initially similar towers, varied over time

The original design

A remarkable ceiling

Squaring the circle

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

The towers facing the facade used as bell towers

From the Mosque to the Cathedral

The Great Restoration

The Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene

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

Porphyry sarcophagi: royalty and power

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

The king’s mark

The chystro: a place between earth and sky

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

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

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

The towers and the western facade

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

The medieval city amidst monasticism and feudal aristocracy

A chapel by an unknown designer based on repeated symmetries

Ecclesia munita

The lost chapel

Roger II’s strategic design

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

The Great Presbytery: a unique space for the cathedral

Cefalù: settlement evidence through time

The balance between architecture and light

A space between the visible and the invisible

The transformations of the hall through the centuries

The rediscovered chapel

The mosaics of the apses

Characteristics of religious architecture in the romanesque period

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

The senses tell Context 1

The beginning of the construction site

Norman religious architecture with islamic influences in Sicily

The longest aisle

The area of the Sanctuary

A cloister of accentuated stylistic variety

The decorated facade

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

A polysemy of high-level artistic forms and content

The mosaics of the presbytery

The stone bible

The Gualtiero Cathedral

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

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

Under the crosses of the Bema

Palermo: the happiest city

The southern portico

Gardens and architecture as a backdrop to the city of Palermo

The side aisles

A new Cathedral

A tree full of life

The cultural substrate through time

The Virgin Hodegetria

The dialogue between the architectures of the monumental complex

The chapel of St. Benedict

Layers of different cultures decorate the external apses

A Northern population

The chapel of san Castrense: an important renaissance work

The construction of Monreale Cathedral: between myth and history

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

Survey of the royal tombs

Worship services

Mosaic decoration

The liturgical spaces of the protesis and the diaconicon

The Bible carved in stone

Artistic elements in Peter’s ship

A mixture of styles pervades the floor decorations

A palimpsest of history

Interior decorations

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

Beyond the harmony of proportions