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.

Squaring the circle

Survey of the royal tombs

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

The decorated facade

A cloister of accentuated stylistic variety

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

The towers and the western facade

The senses tell Context 1

The rediscovered chapel

The lost chapel

A palimpsest of history

The transformations of the hall through the centuries

Cefalù: settlement evidence through time

The area of the Sanctuary

A polysemy of high-level artistic forms and content

The beginning of the construction site

A controversial interpretation

The dialogue between the architectures of the monumental complex

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

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

The longest aisle

The original design

Roger II of hauteville: a sovereign protected by God

Palermo: the happiest city

The chapel of san Castrense: an important renaissance work

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

Roger II’s strategic design

The mosaics of the presbytery

The Bible carved in stone

The king’s mark

The Kings’ Cathedrals

Under the crosses of the Bema

The cultural substrate through time

Mosaic decoration

Ecclesia munita

The balance between architecture and light

The mosaics of the apses

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

The side aisles

The chorus: beating heart of the cathedral

The southern portico

The liturgical spaces of the protesis and the diaconicon

The towers facing the facade used as bell towers

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

Characteristics of religious architecture in the romanesque period

The Cathedral over the centuries

The stone bible

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

Transformations over the centuries

The chystro: a place between earth and sky

The chapel of St. Benedict

The construction of Monreale Cathedral: between myth and history

Worship services

The Virgin Hodegetria

Norman religious architecture with islamic influences in Sicily

Two initially similar towers, varied over time

A space between the visible and the invisible

A new Cathedral

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

The Chapel of the Kings

A remarkable ceiling

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

The medieval city amidst monasticism and feudal aristocracy

Beyond the harmony of proportions

A mixture of styles pervades the floor decorations

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

The Gualtiero Cathedral

Layers of different cultures decorate the external apses

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

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

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

Gardens and architecture as a backdrop to the city of Palermo

Porphyry sarcophagi: royalty and power

The cemetery of kings

A Northern population

Artistic elements in Peter’s ship

The Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene

The Great Presbytery: a unique space for the cathedral

The Great Restoration

Interior decorations

From the Mosque to the Cathedral

A tree full of life

A chapel by an unknown designer based on repeated symmetries