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.

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

The senses tell Context 1

Survey of the royal tombs

Squaring the circle

The Virgin Hodegetria

The Kings’ Cathedrals

The decorated facade

The beginning of the construction site

The chorus: beating heart of the cathedral

Ecclesia munita

The chystro: a place between earth and sky

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

A controversial interpretation

The Gualtiero Cathedral

The chapel of St. Benedict

Roger II’s strategic design

The balance between architecture and light

Roger II of hauteville: a sovereign protected by God

The king’s mark

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

A new Cathedral

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

The construction of Monreale Cathedral: between myth and history

A palimpsest of history

The Great Restoration

The Chapel of the Kings

A space between the visible and the invisible

The transformations of the hall through the centuries

Layers of different cultures decorate the external apses

Interior decorations

The dialogue between the architectures of the monumental complex

The liturgical spaces of the protesis and the diaconicon

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

Norman religious architecture with islamic influences in Sicily

The Cathedral over the centuries

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

Palermo: the happiest city

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

The Bible carved in stone

Porphyry sarcophagi: royalty and power

The cultural substrate through time

The mosaics of the presbytery

From the Mosque to the Cathedral

A mixture of styles pervades the floor decorations

The towers and the western facade

A remarkable ceiling

The Great Presbytery: a unique space for the cathedral

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

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

Cefalù: settlement evidence through time

Mosaic decoration

A cloister of accentuated stylistic variety

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

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

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

Beyond the harmony of proportions

Artistic elements in Peter’s ship

The side aisles

A polysemy of high-level artistic forms and content

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

Worship services

The rediscovered chapel

A chapel by an unknown designer based on repeated symmetries

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

The mosaics of the apses

A Northern population

The chapel of san Castrense: an important renaissance work

The original design

The area of the Sanctuary

Transformations over the centuries

The lost chapel

The Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene

Under the crosses of the Bema

Gardens and architecture as a backdrop to the city of Palermo

The longest aisle

Two initially similar towers, varied over time

The stone bible

The cemetery of kings

The southern portico

The medieval city amidst monasticism and feudal aristocracy

A tree full of life

Characteristics of religious architecture in the romanesque period

The towers facing the facade used as bell towers