The tolling of the bells calls the faithful to mass
The tolling of the bells calls the faithful to morning mass. A small group of people begin to gather in the churchyard in front of the Cathedral. They are fishermen who, having spent the night at sea, are preparing to receive the Eucharist and thank God for the goods he has granted them....
At first glance, the western façade of the Cathedral has a compositional structure that is independent from the rest of the building, as if it were a fortress and a transversal link to the two towers surrounding it.
The massive vertical momentum of the towers and the fact that they belong to the ...
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...
The garden does not contain flowers, which are instead carved into the stone of the capitals, but, divided into four parts, it is an oasis for four "biblical" plants: the fig, the pomegranate, the olive and the palm. The first two plants, the fig and the pomegranate, refer to the Old Testament, as t...
Among the scenes sculpted in the capitals, the "dedication" is of great symbolic significance. Mirroring what is already depicted in the mosaic cycle in the apse area of the Cathedral, King William is depicted kneeling while offering and giving the model of the Cathedral as a gift to the Child, seat...
The aisles, the sides of which form a perfect square, are rhythmically marked by twenty-six ogival arches, supported by 228 smooth, inlaid, coupled columns. The columns' bases bear motifs of stylised leaves, rosettes, lion's paws, beasts, men and animals in groups, frogs and lizards. Capitals rest o...
Water is a fundamental element of the cloistered space, symbolic of salvation and purification. It flows from the lion and human mouths of the unique fountain, located at the corner between the western and southern aisles, a palimpsest of different stylistic features, into the round basin. The fount...
Touching the glittering gold mosaic tiles that make up the immense Monreale cycle can give you an idea of the consistency of the materials used for this imposing structure which expresses the political, cultural and spiritual agenda of William the Good. ...
The mosaics in the central aisle, with scenes from the Old and New Testaments, as well as the interplay of columns running through the interior of the cathedral, seem to accompany the faithful on a salvific journey through the presbytery, culminating in the Christocentric King of Kings, Christ Panto...
To add to the mystical atmosphere that characterised the Cathedral in medieval times, derived from the chants sung by the Benedictines, the space was enriched from 1503 onwards with different types of organs. The liturgy was thus enlivened by music, which, as St. Augustine claimed, was a prayer that...
MiC – Ministero della Cultura
Legge 77/2006 - Misure Speciali di Tutela e Fruizione dei Siti Italiani di Interesse Culturale, Paesaggistico e Ambientale, inseriti nella “Lista Del Patrimonio Mondiale”, posti sotto la Tutela dell’ UNESCO Regione Siciliana.
Assessorato dei Beni Culturali e dell’Identità Siciliana, Dipartimento dei Beni Culturali e dell’Identità Siciliana.
Parco archeologico della Valle dei Templi di Agrigento.
hearing 
sight 
smell 
touch 
