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 Gualtiero Cathedral

The mosaics of the presbytery

The Great Presbytery: a unique space for the cathedral

The Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene

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

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

A cloister of accentuated stylistic variety

A tree full of life

The lost chapel

The mosaics of the apses

The beginning of the construction site

A new Cathedral

The cemetery of kings

Ecclesia munita

The dialogue between the architectures of the monumental complex

A palimpsest of history

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

The medieval city amidst monasticism and feudal aristocracy

The Great Restoration

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

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

A remarkable ceiling

The Kings’ Cathedrals

A mixture of styles pervades the floor decorations

Two initially similar towers, varied over time

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

The Bible carved in stone

Interior decorations

The Cathedral over the centuries

The side aisles

The rediscovered chapel

Squaring the circle

Cefalù: settlement evidence through time

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

Roger II’s strategic design

Artistic elements in Peter’s ship

Gardens and architecture as a backdrop to the city of Palermo

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

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

A controversial interpretation

A space between the visible and the invisible

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

A polysemy of high-level artistic forms and content

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

The chapel of san Castrense: an important renaissance work

The transformations of the hall through the centuries

The towers facing the facade used as bell towers

Norman religious architecture with islamic influences in Sicily

The area of the Sanctuary

Worship services

The towers and the western facade

Characteristics of religious architecture in the romanesque period

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

Porphyry sarcophagi: royalty and power

The longest aisle

The Chapel of the Kings

The construction of Monreale Cathedral: between myth and history

The Virgin Hodegetria

Mosaic decoration

The balance between architecture and light

A chapel by an unknown designer based on repeated symmetries

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

The stone bible

Layers of different cultures decorate the external apses

The chorus: beating heart of the cathedral

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

A Northern population

Transformations over the centuries

The chapel of St. Benedict

The cultural substrate through time

The king’s mark

Under the crosses of the Bema

Beyond the harmony of proportions

The senses tell Context 1

The original design

Palermo: the happiest city

The chystro: a place between earth and sky

The liturgical spaces of the protesis and the diaconicon

The southern portico

From the Mosque to the Cathedral

The decorated facade

Roger II of hauteville: a sovereign protected by God

Survey of the royal tombs