Cefalù Cathedral
the chystro

Squaring the circle

Entering the cloister of Cefalù Cathedral not only means plunging into a path steeped in medieval art that seems to reawaken the different decorative motifs animating the capitals of the columns as we pass, but also being pervaded by an architecture of light.
In accordance with Christian symbolism, it is oriented so that each of its spaces is illuminated in a different way, following the orientation of the sun.
Following its itinerary, made up of the transcendence of the circle inserted in the immanence of the square, we are invited to embark on a spiritual journey of purification that begins where the light sets, symbolically linked to Adam and the Old Testament, and then reaches the New Testament dimension, pervaded by the radiance of the incarnation and the promise. Even the plants arranged in the garden have always represented an ascetic message, capable of enveloping those who walk through it in a sense of theophany that unfolds along the way.

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

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

The stone bible

A cloister of accentuated stylistic variety

The dialogue between the architectures of the monumental complex

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

A palimpsest of history

Layers of different cultures decorate the external apses

Interior decorations

The senses tell Context 1

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

Roger II of hauteville: a sovereign protected by God

The chapel of san Castrense: an important renaissance work

From the Mosque to the Cathedral

The decorated facade

Beyond the harmony of proportions

A new Cathedral

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

The lost chapel

The chapel of St. Benedict

The cultural substrate through time

The cemetery of kings

The mosaics of the presbytery

Norman religious architecture with islamic influences in Sicily

The Great Restoration

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

A controversial interpretation

The Chapel of the Kings

Roger II’s strategic design

The king’s mark

The southern portico

The liturgical spaces of the protesis and the diaconicon

The Great Presbytery: a unique space for the cathedral

Worship services

Palermo: the happiest city

A polysemy of high-level artistic forms and content

The rediscovered chapel

A tree full of life

The transformations of the hall through the centuries

The beginning of the construction site

Transformations over the centuries

The chorus: beating heart of the cathedral

The towers and the western facade

The Virgin Hodegetria

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

The medieval city amidst monasticism and feudal aristocracy

Characteristics of religious architecture in the romanesque period

The construction of Monreale Cathedral: between myth and history

Mosaic decoration

The Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene

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

The chystro: a place between earth and sky

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

The area of the Sanctuary

The balance between architecture and light

The side aisles

The Cathedral over the centuries

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

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

A space between the visible and the invisible

Under the crosses of the Bema

The Gualtiero Cathedral

Cefalù: settlement evidence through time

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

The towers facing the facade used as bell towers

Survey of the royal tombs

A chapel by an unknown designer based on repeated symmetries

Porphyry sarcophagi: royalty and power

The original design

A mixture of styles pervades the floor decorations

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

The mosaics of the apses

Squaring the circle

The Bible carved in stone

The Kings’ Cathedrals

A remarkable ceiling

Ecclesia munita

Artistic elements in Peter’s ship

A Northern population

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

Gardens and architecture as a backdrop to the city of Palermo

Two initially similar towers, varied over time

The longest aisle