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.

A remarkable ceiling

The mosaics of the presbytery

The chapel of san Castrense: an important renaissance work

The cemetery of kings

The Cathedral over the centuries

The transformations of the hall through the centuries

Survey of the royal tombs

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

The Bible carved in stone

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

The stone bible

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

A controversial interpretation

The side aisles

Cefalù: settlement evidence through time

The dialogue between the architectures of the monumental complex

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

Transformations over the centuries

A chapel by an unknown designer based on repeated symmetries

Palermo: the happiest city

The beginning of the construction site

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

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

The chorus: beating heart of the cathedral

A palimpsest of history

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

Under the crosses of the Bema

The cultural substrate through time

The area of the Sanctuary

The Virgin Hodegetria

A tree full of life

A mixture of styles pervades the floor decorations

The balance between architecture and light

The southern portico

Beyond the harmony of proportions

The construction of Monreale Cathedral: between myth and history

The lost chapel

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

A Northern population

From the Mosque to the Cathedral

The decorated facade

The Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene

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

Roger II’s strategic design

The Great Restoration

A space between the visible and the invisible

Artistic elements in Peter’s ship

Characteristics of religious architecture in the romanesque period

Gardens and architecture as a backdrop to the city of Palermo

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

The liturgical spaces of the protesis and the diaconicon

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

Norman religious architecture with islamic influences in Sicily

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

Ecclesia munita

The chapel of St. Benedict

The longest aisle

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

Worship services

A new Cathedral

Mosaic decoration

The Kings’ Cathedrals

Layers of different cultures decorate the external apses

Squaring the circle

A polysemy of high-level artistic forms and content

Porphyry sarcophagi: royalty and power

The mosaics of the apses

The Great Presbytery: a unique space for the cathedral

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

The towers and the western facade

The senses tell Context 1

Roger II of hauteville: a sovereign protected by God

A cloister of accentuated stylistic variety

The chystro: a place between earth and sky

The Chapel of the Kings

Two initially similar towers, varied over time

The rediscovered chapel

The king’s mark

The original design

The Gualtiero Cathedral

Interior decorations

The towers facing the facade used as bell towers

The medieval city amidst monasticism and feudal aristocracy