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.

A remarkable ceiling

A tree full of life

The transformations of the hall through the centuries

The Chapel of the Kings

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

The Great Presbytery: a unique space for the cathedral

The southern portico

Squaring the circle

The beginning of the construction site

A palimpsest of history

The Bible carved in stone

The mosaics of the presbytery

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

The balance between architecture and light

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

The towers facing the facade used as bell towers

Two initially similar towers, varied over time

Artistic elements in Peter’s ship

The cemetery of kings

Mosaic decoration

The medieval city amidst monasticism and feudal aristocracy

The lost chapel

Ecclesia munita

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

Norman religious architecture with islamic influences in Sicily

The towers and the western facade

Interior decorations

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

The king’s mark

Layers of different cultures decorate the external apses

Gardens and architecture as a backdrop to the city of Palermo

A polysemy of high-level artistic forms and content

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

Palermo: the happiest city

The senses tell Context 1

The decorated facade

From the Mosque to the Cathedral

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

The area of the Sanctuary

A controversial interpretation

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

The liturgical spaces of the protesis and the diaconicon

A new Cathedral

The side aisles

Beyond the harmony of proportions

The chystro: a place between earth and sky

The construction of Monreale Cathedral: between myth and history

Transformations over the centuries

A space between the visible and the invisible

The chorus: beating heart of the cathedral

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

Roger II’s strategic design

The Kings’ Cathedrals

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

The stone bible

Under the crosses of the Bema

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

The dialogue between the architectures of the monumental complex

The Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene

The Virgin Hodegetria

Porphyry sarcophagi: royalty and power

Cefalù: settlement evidence through time

Survey of the royal tombs

A Northern population

The chapel of san Castrense: an important renaissance work

The rediscovered chapel

Characteristics of religious architecture in the romanesque period

The Great Restoration

The Gualtiero Cathedral

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

The cultural substrate through time

Roger II of hauteville: a sovereign protected by God

The original design

The chapel of St. Benedict

A chapel by an unknown designer based on repeated symmetries

The Cathedral over the centuries

Worship services

The longest aisle

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

A mixture of styles pervades the floor decorations

The mosaics of the apses

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