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 Kings’ Cathedrals

The dialogue between the architectures of the monumental complex

The towers and the western facade

Roger II of hauteville: a sovereign protected by God

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

The liturgical spaces of the protesis and the diaconicon

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

The mosaics of the apses

The towers facing the facade used as bell towers

The construction of Monreale Cathedral: between myth and history

A space between the visible and the invisible

A new Cathedral

A controversial interpretation

Beyond the harmony of proportions

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

The area of the Sanctuary

Gardens and architecture as a backdrop to the city of Palermo

The mosaics of the presbytery

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

A chapel by an unknown designer based on repeated symmetries

Squaring the circle

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

Worship services

Layers of different cultures decorate the external apses

Two initially similar towers, varied over time

Mosaic decoration

The Cathedral over the centuries

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

The Gualtiero Cathedral

Under the crosses of the Bema

The chapel of St. Benedict

A cloister of accentuated stylistic variety

The cultural substrate through time

Artistic elements in Peter’s ship

Cefalù: settlement evidence through time

A Northern population

The lost chapel

The transformations of the hall through the centuries

The king’s mark

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

The stone bible

The chapel of san Castrense: an important renaissance work

The Great Restoration

Porphyry sarcophagi: royalty and power

The Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene

The Bible carved in stone

The Virgin Hodegetria

The rediscovered chapel

A tree full of life

Norman religious architecture with islamic influences in Sicily

The Chapel of the Kings

Transformations over the centuries

The senses tell Context 1

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

Ecclesia munita

A mixture of styles pervades the floor decorations

The longest aisle

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

Roger II’s strategic design

The cemetery of kings

The chystro: a place between earth and sky

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

The balance between architecture and light

A remarkable ceiling

The medieval city amidst monasticism and feudal aristocracy

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

The side aisles

From the Mosque to the Cathedral

The southern portico

The chorus: beating heart of the cathedral

The original design

The Great Presbytery: a unique space for the cathedral

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

The decorated facade

Characteristics of religious architecture in the romanesque period

Interior decorations

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

A palimpsest of history

The beginning of the construction site

A polysemy of high-level artistic forms and content

Palermo: the happiest city

Survey of the royal tombs

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