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

The transformations of the hall through the centuries

The mosaics of the apses

A new Cathedral

From the Mosque to the Cathedral

A controversial interpretation

The Virgin Hodegetria

Palermo: the happiest city

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

A remarkable ceiling

The decorated facade

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

A mixture of styles pervades the floor decorations

Characteristics of religious architecture in the romanesque period

The chapel of St. Benedict

Interior decorations

The Kings’ Cathedrals

The rediscovered chapel

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

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

A palimpsest of history

The Bible carved in stone

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

Porphyry sarcophagi: royalty and power

The balance between architecture and light

The liturgical spaces of the protesis and the diaconicon

The dialogue between the architectures of the monumental complex

A chapel by an unknown designer based on repeated symmetries

Roger II of hauteville: a sovereign protected by God

The construction of Monreale Cathedral: between myth and history

The side aisles

Transformations over the centuries

A polysemy of high-level artistic forms and content

Gardens and architecture as a backdrop to the city of Palermo

The southern portico

Two initially similar towers, varied over time

The towers and the western facade

Worship services

Layers of different cultures decorate the external apses

A Northern population

Survey of the royal tombs

The original design

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

Artistic elements in Peter’s ship

A space between the visible and the invisible

Norman religious architecture with islamic influences in Sicily

The Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene

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

The senses tell Context 1

Cefalù: settlement evidence through time

The Great Presbytery: a unique space for the cathedral

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

The chystro: a place between earth and sky

The king’s mark

Beyond the harmony of proportions

The towers facing the facade used as bell towers

The cemetery of kings

The cultural substrate through time

The Great Restoration

A tree full of life

The chorus: beating heart of the cathedral

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

A cloister of accentuated stylistic variety

The medieval city amidst monasticism and feudal aristocracy

The Cathedral over the centuries

The Chapel of the Kings

The chapel of san Castrense: an important renaissance work

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

Ecclesia munita

Squaring the circle

The Gualtiero Cathedral

The longest aisle

The stone bible

Mosaic decoration

The mosaics of the presbytery

Roger II’s strategic design

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

The area of the Sanctuary

The lost chapel

The beginning of the construction site

Under the crosses of the Bema