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.

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

The construction of Monreale Cathedral: between myth and history

The chystro: a place between earth and sky

The Bible carved in stone

A new Cathedral

Worship services

Two initially similar towers, varied over time

Roger II’s strategic design

The Great Restoration

The transformations of the hall through the centuries

Palermo: the happiest city

The cultural substrate through time

The lost chapel

The side aisles

The cemetery of kings

The Cathedral over the centuries

The towers facing the facade used as bell towers

The medieval city amidst monasticism and feudal aristocracy

Layers of different cultures decorate the external apses

The southern portico

Under the crosses of the Bema

Ecclesia munita

The longest aisle

Mosaic decoration

The liturgical spaces of the protesis and the diaconicon

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

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

The senses tell Context 1

The rediscovered chapel

Squaring the circle

The dialogue between the architectures of the monumental complex

Cefalù: settlement evidence through time

A Northern population

A mixture of styles pervades the floor decorations

The Virgin Hodegetria

A tree full of life

A controversial interpretation

The stone bible

The mosaics of the presbytery

A polysemy of high-level artistic forms and content

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

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

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

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

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

The Kings’ Cathedrals

The Great Presbytery: a unique space for the cathedral

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

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

Survey of the royal tombs

The chorus: beating heart of the cathedral

The area of the Sanctuary

The Gualtiero Cathedral

The towers and the western facade

From the Mosque to the Cathedral

The chapel of san Castrense: an important renaissance work

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

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

A chapel by an unknown designer based on repeated symmetries

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

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

The chapel of St. Benedict

Norman religious architecture with islamic influences in Sicily

Transformations over the centuries

The Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene

The king’s mark

Porphyry sarcophagi: royalty and power

A remarkable ceiling

The beginning of the construction site

Gardens and architecture as a backdrop to the city of Palermo

The decorated facade

The balance between architecture and light

A cloister of accentuated stylistic variety

Characteristics of religious architecture in the romanesque period

The original design

A space between the visible and the invisible

The mosaics of the apses

Beyond the harmony of proportions

Roger II of hauteville: a sovereign protected by God

The Chapel of the Kings

Artistic elements in Peter’s ship

Interior decorations

A palimpsest of history