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 king’s mark

Two initially similar towers, varied over time

The cultural substrate through time

A palimpsest of history

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

Interior decorations

The area of the Sanctuary

The mosaics of the apses

Artistic elements in Peter’s ship

The Kings’ Cathedrals

The decorated facade

The transformations of the hall through the centuries

Survey of the royal tombs

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

From the Mosque to the Cathedral

Norman religious architecture with islamic influences in Sicily

A new Cathedral

The chapel of san Castrense: an important renaissance work

The dialogue between the architectures of the monumental complex

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

The stone bible

A controversial interpretation

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

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

The beginning of the construction site

The balance between architecture and light

Roger II of hauteville: a sovereign protected by God

Porphyry sarcophagi: royalty and power

The mosaics of the presbytery

The Gualtiero Cathedral

A remarkable ceiling

The towers facing the facade used as bell towers

Characteristics of religious architecture in the romanesque period

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

The side aisles

Layers of different cultures decorate the external apses

Mosaic decoration

A chapel by an unknown designer based on repeated symmetries

Beyond the harmony of proportions

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

The southern portico

A cloister of accentuated stylistic variety

The towers and the western facade

Cefalù: settlement evidence through time

Squaring the circle

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

The Great Presbytery: a unique space for the cathedral

The senses tell Context 1

The rediscovered chapel

Worship services

The Great Restoration

A space between the visible and the invisible

Transformations over the centuries

The Bible carved in stone

The original design

The Virgin Hodegetria

The cemetery of kings

Ecclesia munita

A polysemy of high-level artistic forms and content

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

A Northern population

Gardens and architecture as a backdrop to the city of Palermo

Under the crosses of the Bema

The lost chapel

The Cathedral over the centuries

Roger II’s strategic design

The longest aisle

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

The Chapel of the Kings

Palermo: the happiest city

A mixture of styles pervades the floor decorations

The medieval city amidst monasticism and feudal aristocracy

A tree full of life

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

The chystro: a place between earth and sky

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

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

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

The chapel of St. Benedict

The liturgical spaces of the protesis and the diaconicon

The Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene

The chorus: beating heart of the cathedral

The construction of Monreale Cathedral: between myth and history