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.

A new Cathedral

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

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

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

Roger II’s strategic design

The senses tell Context 1

Interior decorations

The liturgical spaces of the protesis and the diaconicon

A remarkable ceiling

The area of the Sanctuary

A cloister of accentuated stylistic variety

The Kings’ Cathedrals

The transformations of the hall through the centuries

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

The dialogue between the architectures of the monumental complex

The chystro: a place between earth and sky

The towers facing the facade used as bell towers

A tree full of life

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

The Bible carved in stone

Porphyry sarcophagi: royalty and power

Squaring the circle

The chapel of san Castrense: an important renaissance work

The Cathedral over the centuries

A Northern population

The chorus: beating heart of the cathedral

Two initially similar towers, varied over time

The side aisles

The Gualtiero Cathedral

A chapel by an unknown designer based on repeated symmetries

Survey of the royal tombs

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

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

The Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene

A space between the visible and the invisible

The original design

Artistic elements in Peter’s ship

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

Palermo: the happiest city

Transformations over the centuries

Layers of different cultures decorate the external apses

Roger II of hauteville: a sovereign protected by God

Gardens and architecture as a backdrop to the city of Palermo

From the Mosque to the Cathedral

The mosaics of the apses

The longest aisle

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

The balance between architecture and light

Under the crosses of the Bema

The towers and the western facade

The lost chapel

The chapel of St. Benedict

The construction of Monreale Cathedral: between myth and history

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

The decorated facade

A polysemy of high-level artistic forms and content

A mixture of styles pervades the floor decorations

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

Beyond the harmony of proportions

The stone bible

The mosaics of the presbytery

The Virgin Hodegetria

A controversial interpretation

Ecclesia munita

Characteristics of religious architecture in the romanesque period

The Great Restoration

Worship services

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

The southern portico

Cefalù: settlement evidence through time

Mosaic decoration

The Great Presbytery: a unique space for the cathedral

The beginning of the construction site

Norman religious architecture with islamic influences in Sicily

The cemetery of kings

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

The medieval city amidst monasticism and feudal aristocracy

The king’s mark

The Chapel of the Kings

The rediscovered chapel

The cultural substrate through time

A palimpsest of history

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