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 side aisles

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

The towers and the western facade

A palimpsest of history

A space between the visible and the invisible

The senses tell Context 1

A polysemy of high-level artistic forms and content

Transformations over the centuries

The liturgical spaces of the protesis and the diaconicon

The beginning of the construction site

Beyond the harmony of proportions

A cloister of accentuated stylistic variety

Roger II’s strategic design

Cefalù: settlement evidence through time

Characteristics of religious architecture in the romanesque period

The Virgin Hodegetria

Norman religious architecture with islamic influences in Sicily

The Kings’ Cathedrals

The balance between architecture and light

The transformations of the hall through the centuries

A new Cathedral

A controversial interpretation

The rediscovered chapel

Porphyry sarcophagi: royalty and power

The Chapel of the Kings

The Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene

The Great Presbytery: a unique space for the cathedral

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

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 side Portico: a combination of elegance and lightness of form

The chapel of san Castrense: an important renaissance work

The medieval city amidst monasticism and feudal aristocracy

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

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

Interior decorations

The decorated facade

The cemetery of kings

The mosaics of the apses

Layers of different cultures decorate the external apses

Worship services

The cultural substrate through time

Under the crosses of the Bema

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

The chorus: beating heart of the cathedral

The original design

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

The Bible carved in stone

From the Mosque to the Cathedral

Two initially similar towers, varied over time

The chystro: a place between earth and sky

A mixture of styles pervades the floor decorations

The longest aisle

The Great Restoration

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

The chapel of St. Benedict

The lost chapel

The mosaics of the presbytery

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

Ecclesia munita

The dialogue between the architectures of the monumental complex

A chapel by an unknown designer based on repeated symmetries

The stone bible

The king’s mark

The area of the Sanctuary

Gardens and architecture as a backdrop to the city of Palermo

Artistic elements in Peter’s ship

The construction of Monreale Cathedral: between myth and history

The Gualtiero Cathedral

A Northern population

Roger II of hauteville: a sovereign protected by God

Survey of the royal tombs

Squaring the circle

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

The Cathedral over the centuries

A remarkable ceiling

Mosaic decoration

A tree full of life

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

Palermo: the happiest city

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

The towers facing the facade used as bell towers

The southern portico