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 Cathedral over the centuries

A controversial interpretation

The area of the Sanctuary

The stone bible

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

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

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

A palimpsest of history

Roger II’s strategic design

The construction of Monreale Cathedral: between myth and history

The mosaics of the apses

Norman religious architecture with islamic influences in Sicily

Roger II of hauteville: a sovereign protected by God

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

A Northern population

The chapel of St. Benedict

From the Mosque to the Cathedral

The chystro: a place between earth and sky

Mosaic decoration

A cloister of accentuated stylistic variety

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

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

The towers facing the facade used as bell towers

The balance between architecture and light

The Virgin Hodegetria

The mosaics of the presbytery

The transformations of the hall through the centuries

Palermo: the happiest city

The side aisles

A chapel by an unknown designer based on repeated symmetries

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

Gardens and architecture as a backdrop to the city of Palermo

Beyond the harmony of proportions

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

The decorated facade

The chapel of san Castrense: an important renaissance work

Artistic elements in Peter’s ship

A space between the visible and the invisible

Cefalù: settlement evidence through time

A tree full of life

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

The senses tell Context 1

Survey of the royal tombs

The liturgical spaces of the protesis and the diaconicon

The medieval city amidst monasticism and feudal aristocracy

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

The Kings’ Cathedrals

The Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene

The original design

Under the crosses of the Bema

Squaring the circle

The Great Presbytery: a unique space for the cathedral

The king’s mark

Porphyry sarcophagi: royalty and power

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

The rediscovered chapel

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

A polysemy of high-level artistic forms and content

The southern portico

Characteristics of religious architecture in the romanesque period

A remarkable ceiling

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

The dialogue between the architectures of the monumental complex

The Great Restoration

Transformations over the centuries

The towers and the western facade

Two initially similar towers, varied over time

A mixture of styles pervades the floor decorations

The lost chapel

The cultural substrate through time

Layers of different cultures decorate the external apses

The Chapel of the Kings

The Bible carved in stone

The beginning of the construction site

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

A new Cathedral

The longest aisle

The Gualtiero Cathedral

The cemetery of kings

Interior decorations

The chorus: beating heart of the cathedral

Ecclesia munita

Worship services