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 Bible carved in stone

The area of the Sanctuary

The liturgical spaces of the protesis and the diaconicon

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

The chorus: beating heart of the cathedral

The mosaics of the presbytery

A controversial interpretation

The beginning of the construction site

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

The chystro: a place between earth and sky

A polysemy of high-level artistic forms and content

The chapel of St. Benedict

The construction of Monreale Cathedral: between myth and history

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

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

The medieval city amidst monasticism and feudal aristocracy

The original design

A new Cathedral

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

The rediscovered chapel

Artistic elements in Peter’s ship

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

The mosaics of the apses

Interior decorations

Gardens and architecture as a backdrop to the city of Palermo

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

The decorated facade

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

A mixture of styles pervades the floor decorations

Layers of different cultures decorate the external apses

Norman religious architecture with islamic influences in Sicily

Under the crosses of the Bema

The towers and the western facade

A space between the visible and the invisible

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

The stone bible

The chapel of san Castrense: an important renaissance work

A tree full of life

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

Porphyry sarcophagi: royalty and power

Survey of the royal tombs

Roger II of hauteville: a sovereign protected by God

Ecclesia munita

The southern portico

Roger II’s strategic design

The dialogue between the architectures of the monumental complex

A remarkable ceiling

The towers facing the facade used as bell towers

The king’s mark

The senses tell Context 1

A chapel by an unknown designer based on repeated symmetries

Palermo: the happiest city

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

The Kings’ Cathedrals

The Virgin Hodegetria

Cefalù: settlement evidence through time

The longest aisle

The transformations of the hall through the centuries

A cloister of accentuated stylistic variety

The Chapel of the Kings

From the Mosque to the Cathedral

Transformations over the centuries

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

The cultural substrate through time

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

The Great Presbytery: a unique space for the cathedral

A palimpsest of history

The Gualtiero Cathedral

Mosaic decoration

Characteristics of religious architecture in the romanesque period

A Northern population

The Cathedral over the centuries

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

The Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene

Squaring the circle

The cemetery of kings

Worship services

The balance between architecture and light

Beyond the harmony of proportions

The Great Restoration

The lost chapel

Two initially similar towers, varied over time

The side aisles