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 area of the Sanctuary

The chystro: a place between earth and sky

A space between the visible and the invisible

The Virgin Hodegetria

Characteristics of religious architecture in the romanesque period

The cemetery of kings

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

The towers facing the facade used as bell towers

The Bible carved in stone

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

Transformations over the centuries

Worship services

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

Under the crosses of the Bema

Mosaic decoration

The chapel of St. Benedict

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

The construction of Monreale Cathedral: between myth and history

Layers of different cultures decorate the external apses

Ecclesia munita

The king’s mark

Porphyry sarcophagi: royalty and power

The stone bible

The towers and the western facade

The dialogue between the architectures of the monumental complex

The decorated facade

Norman religious architecture with islamic influences in Sicily

From the Mosque to the Cathedral

The Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene

A cloister of accentuated stylistic variety

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

The cultural substrate through time

The lost chapel

The medieval city amidst monasticism and feudal aristocracy

Squaring the circle

Roger II of hauteville: a sovereign protected by God

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

A palimpsest of history

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

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

Two initially similar towers, varied over time

The transformations of the hall through the centuries

A controversial interpretation

A new Cathedral

The chorus: beating heart of the cathedral

The balance between architecture and light

The Great Restoration

The liturgical spaces of the protesis and the diaconicon

Gardens and architecture as a backdrop to the city of Palermo

The beginning of the construction site

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

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

Artistic elements in Peter’s ship

Beyond the harmony of proportions

The side aisles

The original design

A Northern population

Palermo: the happiest city

The chapel of san Castrense: an important renaissance work

The southern portico

The longest aisle

The senses tell Context 1

A polysemy of high-level artistic forms and content

Cefalù: settlement evidence through time

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

The Cathedral over the centuries

Survey of the royal tombs

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

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

A mixture of styles pervades the floor decorations

Interior decorations

A remarkable ceiling

The mosaics of the apses

The mosaics of the presbytery

The Chapel of the Kings

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 Gualtiero Cathedral

A tree full of life

Roger II’s strategic design

The rediscovered chapel

A chapel by an unknown designer based on repeated symmetries