Palermo Cathedral
The central body: the aisles

Worship services

The central hall, in the medieval period, was used for its canonical function, i.e. the place for the assembly of Christians attending the sacred functions, while the two side aisles took on the role of a service ambulatory. Until the 15th century, the interior layout of the church remained almost unchanged. It was not until the 16th century that the structure of the central body of the building was adapted to the new needs of worship, partly as a result of the Counter-Reformation .
New chapels were opened on the fronts of the aisles, and these became the passageways and resting places where people could access the places dedicated to various saints or for the conservation of relics; the central hall was also used as a venue for religious events, not necessarily related to the rite of mass. From the 17th century onwards, the interior of the cathedral, in keeping with the Baroque style of the time, was lavishly decorated with ephemeral artefacts, of great scenic effect on the occasion of major religious festivals. Embellishments and stage machinery also affected the exterior on the occasion of special ceremonies such as the “ public acts of faith ” during the Inquisition  period.

Interior decorations

Cefalù: settlement evidence through time

A chapel by an unknown designer based on repeated symmetries

The lost chapel

The beginning of the construction site

The chystro: a place between earth and sky

The Virgin Hodegetria

Gardens and architecture as a backdrop to the city of Palermo

Ecclesia munita

The Kings’ Cathedrals

Artistic elements in Peter’s ship

A controversial interpretation

Characteristics of religious architecture in the romanesque period

The area of the Sanctuary

The king’s mark

A mixture of styles pervades the floor decorations

The medieval city amidst monasticism and feudal aristocracy

The cultural substrate through time

The construction of Monreale Cathedral: between myth and history

Squaring the circle

A Northern population

The stone bible

Beyond the harmony of proportions

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

A cloister of accentuated stylistic variety

A new Cathedral

A tree full of life

From the Mosque to the Cathedral

The Gualtiero Cathedral

The liturgical spaces of the protesis and the diaconicon

Palermo: the happiest city

The mosaics of the presbytery

Survey of the royal tombs

Layers of different cultures decorate the external apses

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

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

The cemetery of kings

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

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

A polysemy of high-level artistic forms and content

The mosaics of the apses

Under the crosses of the Bema

Two initially similar towers, varied over time

The Cathedral over the centuries

The chapel of St. Benedict

The Great Restoration

The rediscovered chapel

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

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

The original design

A remarkable ceiling

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

Mosaic decoration

The longest aisle

The chorus: beating heart of the cathedral

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

The Great Presbytery: a unique space for the cathedral

The Chapel of the Kings

A space between the visible and the invisible

The chapel of san Castrense: an important renaissance work

A palimpsest of history

The side aisles

The Bible carved in stone

The towers facing the facade used as bell towers

Worship services

Norman religious architecture with islamic influences in Sicily

The Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene

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

Transformations over the centuries

The decorated facade

Roger II of hauteville: a sovereign protected by God

The transformations of the hall through the centuries

Roger II’s strategic design

The balance between architecture and light

The dialogue between the architectures of the monumental complex

Porphyry sarcophagi: royalty and power

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

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

The towers and the western facade

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

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

The southern portico

The senses tell Context 1