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.

Cefalù: settlement evidence through time

Transformations over the centuries

A new Cathedral

The Virgin Hodegetria

The cemetery of kings

The towers and the western facade

A remarkable ceiling

A space between the visible and the invisible

Roger II’s strategic design

Ecclesia munita

Mosaic decoration

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

The mosaics of the apses

The stone bible

Palermo: the happiest city

The lost chapel

Characteristics of religious architecture in the romanesque period

The medieval city amidst monasticism and feudal aristocracy

The cultural substrate through time

The towers facing the facade used as bell towers

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

The chapel of St. Benedict

A polysemy of high-level artistic forms and content

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

Under the crosses of the Bema

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

The transformations of the hall through the centuries

The beginning of the construction site

The chorus: beating heart of the cathedral

A palimpsest of history

Squaring the circle

The decorated facade

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

The original design

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

The Gualtiero Cathedral

Gardens and architecture as a backdrop to the city of Palermo

A chapel by an unknown designer based on repeated symmetries

Worship services

The Great Restoration

Beyond the harmony of proportions

The Bible carved in stone

The area of the Sanctuary

Norman religious architecture with islamic influences in Sicily

The longest aisle

The southern portico

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

The construction of Monreale Cathedral: between myth and history

A Northern population

Layers of different cultures decorate the external apses

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

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

The senses tell Context 1

Artistic elements in Peter’s ship

A tree full of life

Two initially similar towers, varied over time

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

The chystro: a place between earth and sky

The balance between architecture and light

The Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene

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

Interior decorations

The dialogue between the architectures of the monumental complex

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

The mosaics of the presbytery

The liturgical spaces of the protesis and the diaconicon

The side aisles

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

The chapel of san Castrense: an important renaissance work

The Kings’ Cathedrals

Porphyry sarcophagi: royalty and power

The Cathedral over the centuries

The rediscovered chapel

A cloister of accentuated stylistic variety

The king’s mark

A controversial interpretation

Survey of the royal tombs

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

The Chapel of the Kings

Roger II of hauteville: a sovereign protected by God

A mixture of styles pervades the floor decorations

The Great Presbytery: a unique space for the cathedral

From the Mosque to the Cathedral