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.

The Kings’ Cathedrals

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

The Bible carved in stone

The Cathedral over the centuries

The construction of Monreale Cathedral: between myth and history

Characteristics of religious architecture in the romanesque period

The medieval city amidst monasticism and feudal aristocracy

The longest aisle

The beginning of the construction site

Cefalù: settlement evidence through time

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

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

Roger II’s strategic design

A space between the visible and the invisible

The transformations of the hall through the centuries

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

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

The original design

A remarkable ceiling

The Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene

The cultural substrate through time

The Great Presbytery: a unique space for the cathedral

The towers and the western facade

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

A chapel by an unknown designer based on repeated symmetries

The rediscovered chapel

A controversial interpretation

The decorated facade

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

The chapel of St. Benedict

Transformations over the centuries

Norman religious architecture with islamic influences in Sicily

A mixture of styles pervades the floor decorations

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

Beyond the harmony of proportions

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

The area of the Sanctuary

The liturgical spaces of the protesis and the diaconicon

The chorus: beating heart of the cathedral

Squaring the circle

The mosaics of the apses

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

Roger II of hauteville: a sovereign protected by God

The Gualtiero Cathedral

Mosaic decoration

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

Porphyry sarcophagi: royalty and power

The king’s mark

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

The Virgin Hodegetria

The mosaics of the presbytery

The cemetery of kings

The dialogue between the architectures of the monumental complex

Artistic elements in Peter’s ship

The side aisles

A tree full of life

A palimpsest of history

From the Mosque to the Cathedral

The stone bible

A Northern population

Gardens and architecture as a backdrop to the city of Palermo

The southern portico

The balance between architecture and light

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

Survey of the royal tombs

Ecclesia munita

The Chapel of the Kings

Layers of different cultures decorate the external apses

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

Under the crosses of the Bema

Two initially similar towers, varied over time

A polysemy of high-level artistic forms and content

The towers facing the facade used as bell towers

Worship services

The Great Restoration

The lost chapel

A cloister of accentuated stylistic variety

The senses tell Context 1

The chystro: a place between earth and sky

Palermo: the happiest city

Interior decorations

A new Cathedral