Cefalù Cathedral
the facade and the portico

The senses tell the facade and the portico

sight
A fortress church

The main façade, rising to the west, is enclosed between two imposing square towers with a pyramid-shaped apex. They are a reminder of its original function as Ecclesia Munita, a fortress church, with a series of multi-level walkways, now uncovered, built within the thickness of the walls, connecting the two towers to the transept, in defence of the Cathedral.

touch
Magister Ambrosius of Como

Hands feel the coldness of the stone as they graze the front elevation of the Cathedral. Restored at the end of the 15th century, it houses the protruding body of the tetra-style portico, made by the magister Ambrosius da Como. It is subdivided into three large arches, two lateral pointed arches and a central full-centre one, supported by four columns. The dynamism of the ribbed cross vaults permeating the roof of the portico is reminiscent of the decorations on the ancient gate. Dating back to the second half of the 12th century, the gate is still a fine example of architecture today, although time has compromised the sculptural work by master stone carvers from the Romanesque period.

hearing
The Path to Salvation Begins

After gathering in the square and sadly walking down the steps, the faithful pass through the royal gate, or Porta Regum, and enter the timeless and pathos-filled atmosphere of the Cefalù Cathedral. The chatter outside contrasts with the absolute and spiritual silence that reigns inside the building, before the religious services begin. People gather in emotional personal prayer as they turn, with joined hands, to the grandiose Christ Pantocrator.

Survey of the royal tombs

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

Beyond the harmony of proportions

The side aisles

The beginning of the construction site

Norman religious architecture with islamic influences in Sicily

The dialogue between the architectures of the monumental complex

The decorated facade

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

A chapel by an unknown designer based on repeated symmetries

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

Under the crosses of the Bema

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

The cemetery of kings

The cultural substrate through time

The chorus: beating heart of the cathedral

A polysemy of high-level artistic forms and content

Two initially similar towers, varied over time

Cefalù: settlement evidence through time

The medieval city amidst monasticism and feudal aristocracy

The chapel of St. Benedict

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

A mixture of styles pervades the floor decorations

The liturgical spaces of the protesis and the diaconicon

The original design

The towers facing the facade used as bell towers

The Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene

Roger II of hauteville: a sovereign protected by God

A remarkable ceiling

Palermo: the happiest city

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

The mosaics of the apses

Gardens and architecture as a backdrop to the city of Palermo

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

The balance between architecture and light

Ecclesia munita

Artistic elements in Peter’s ship

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

Interior decorations

The senses tell Context 1

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

The longest aisle

Squaring the circle

The Great Restoration

The rediscovered chapel

Porphyry sarcophagi: royalty and power

A palimpsest of history

A cloister of accentuated stylistic variety

A Northern population

Roger II’s strategic design

Transformations over the centuries

The construction of Monreale Cathedral: between myth and history

The transformations of the hall through the centuries

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

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

Worship services

The lost chapel

A controversial interpretation

The king’s mark

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

Layers of different cultures decorate the external apses

A new Cathedral

Characteristics of religious architecture in the romanesque period

From the Mosque to the Cathedral

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

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

The Chapel of the Kings

The chystro: a place between earth and sky

The mosaics of the presbytery

The area of the Sanctuary

A tree full of life

The stone bible

The chapel of san Castrense: an important renaissance work

The Great Presbytery: a unique space for the cathedral

The Bible carved in stone

The southern portico

Mosaic decoration

A space between the visible and the invisible

The Virgin Hodegetria

The Kings’ Cathedrals

The Cathedral over the centuries

The towers and the western facade

The Gualtiero Cathedral