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.

Worship services

The stone bible

A tree full of life

A Northern population

Transformations over the centuries

A space between the visible and the invisible

Characteristics of religious architecture in the romanesque period

The dialogue between the architectures of the monumental complex

Interior decorations

Roger II of hauteville: a sovereign protected by God

A mixture of styles pervades the floor decorations

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

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

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

The southern portico

The chystro: a place between earth and sky

The side aisles

The construction of Monreale Cathedral: between myth and history

The balance between architecture and light

The chorus: beating heart of the cathedral

Artistic elements in Peter’s ship

Two initially similar towers, varied over time

The senses tell Context 1

The Virgin Hodegetria

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

The Kings’ Cathedrals

The mosaics of the apses

The mosaics of the presbytery

A controversial interpretation

The rediscovered chapel

A remarkable ceiling

The Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene

A cloister of accentuated stylistic variety

The liturgical spaces of the protesis and the diaconicon

A chapel by an unknown designer based on repeated symmetries

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

The chapel of St. Benedict

Norman religious architecture with islamic influences in Sicily

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

The Great Presbytery: a unique space for the cathedral

The lost chapel

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

Mosaic decoration

The towers and the western facade

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

The Cathedral over the centuries

Palermo: the happiest city

The chapel of san Castrense: an important renaissance work

A palimpsest of history

The beginning of the construction site

The longest aisle

A polysemy of high-level artistic forms and content

The Gualtiero Cathedral

Cefalù: settlement evidence through time

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

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

The original design

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

Ecclesia munita

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

A new Cathedral

The cultural substrate through time

The cemetery of kings

Under the crosses of the Bema

Roger II’s strategic design

The Chapel of the Kings

The decorated facade

Gardens and architecture as a backdrop to the city of Palermo

Survey of the royal tombs

The king’s mark

Beyond the harmony of proportions

The area of the Sanctuary

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

Porphyry sarcophagi: royalty and power

From the Mosque to the Cathedral

The Great Restoration

The transformations of the hall through the centuries

The Bible carved in stone

Squaring the circle

Layers of different cultures decorate the external apses

The medieval city amidst monasticism and feudal aristocracy

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

The towers facing the facade used as bell towers