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.

Transformations over the centuries

The king’s mark

The Virgin Hodegetria

A chapel by an unknown designer based on repeated symmetries

Palermo: the happiest city

Gardens and architecture as a backdrop to the city of Palermo

The lost chapel

Two initially similar towers, varied over time

A new Cathedral

The stone bible

The Chapel of the Kings

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

The rediscovered chapel

A remarkable ceiling

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

Survey of the royal tombs

The senses tell Context 1

The side aisles

A Northern population

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

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

The medieval city amidst monasticism and feudal aristocracy

Artistic elements in Peter’s ship

The chapel of St. Benedict

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

The cemetery of kings

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

The longest aisle

Squaring the circle

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

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

The Gualtiero Cathedral

Porphyry sarcophagi: royalty and power

The Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene

The decorated facade

The mosaics of the apses

The cultural substrate through time

A cloister of accentuated stylistic variety

A controversial interpretation

Under the crosses of the Bema

Beyond the harmony of proportions

The liturgical spaces of the protesis and the diaconicon

Ecclesia munita

Roger II’s strategic design

The towers facing the facade used as bell towers

Cefalù: settlement evidence through time

The area of the Sanctuary

The chapel of san Castrense: an important renaissance work

The chystro: a place between earth and sky

Layers of different cultures decorate the external apses

The balance between architecture and light

The Great Presbytery: a unique space for the cathedral

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

The dialogue between the architectures of the monumental complex

The southern portico

The towers and the western facade

The Great Restoration

A polysemy of high-level artistic forms and content

The construction of Monreale Cathedral: between myth and history

From the Mosque to the Cathedral

Characteristics of religious architecture in the romanesque period

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

A palimpsest of history

The Cathedral over the centuries

The Kings’ Cathedrals

The original design

The transformations of the hall through the centuries

The chorus: beating heart of the cathedral

A tree full of life

The mosaics of the presbytery

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

Norman religious architecture with islamic influences in Sicily

A space between the visible and the invisible

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

Interior decorations

A mixture of styles pervades the floor decorations

Worship services

The beginning of the construction site

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

Roger II of hauteville: a sovereign protected by God

Mosaic decoration

The Bible carved in stone