Monreale Cathedral
the Context 1

The senses tell Context 1

sight
The vegetation of the Palermo plain

As Ugo Falcando carefully describes, the flourishing vegetation of the landscape of the Palermo plain in the 12th century showed colours ranging from the pink hues of the lumia flowers to the bright tones of the oranges and pomegranates, similar to the fiery streaks of timeless sunsets.

smell
Scent of spices and colours

New fruit trees such as cedars, lemons and oranges were introduced to the endless green expanses of the flourishing Palermo plain as part of a diverse cultivation system. In addition to the pleasant view enhanced by a rich palette of colours, there was no shortage of the spicy scents of cinnamon, cloves, ginger and jasmine, which permeated the air with a mixture of Middle Eastern aromas.

hearing
Parks, gardens and water features

In the parks and gardens, you can hear the water gushing. The knowledge with which the Arab culture was imbued, starting with the development of science and mathematics, also involved the reorganisation of the layout of Palermo. The city became an area where studies on water channelling systems, including the underground water channels known as quanāt, gave impetus to the construction of parks and suburban gardens enriched by the presence of surface pipelines, saie, fountains and water collection tanks.

Two initially similar towers, varied over time

Palermo: the happiest city

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

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

Characteristics of religious architecture in the romanesque period

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

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

The decorated facade

The balance between architecture and light

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

The cultural substrate through time

The construction of Monreale Cathedral: between myth and history

The area of the Sanctuary

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

A remarkable ceiling

The mosaics of the presbytery

The stone bible

A mixture of styles pervades the floor decorations

Roger II’s strategic design

From the Mosque to the Cathedral

Mosaic decoration

Norman religious architecture with islamic influences in Sicily

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

The Cathedral over the centuries

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

A chapel by an unknown designer based on repeated symmetries

The Great Presbytery: a unique space for the cathedral

The Great Restoration

The Chapel of the Kings

The Bible carved in stone

The southern portico

A controversial interpretation

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

Beyond the harmony of proportions

Ecclesia munita

The liturgical spaces of the protesis and the diaconicon

The chapel of san Castrense: an important renaissance work

The mosaics of the apses

The chapel of St. Benedict

The dialogue between the architectures of the monumental complex

Interior decorations

Survey of the royal tombs

Under the crosses of the Bema

The Gualtiero Cathedral

A space between the visible and the invisible

Porphyry sarcophagi: royalty and power

The beginning of the construction site

A Northern population

The medieval city amidst monasticism and feudal aristocracy

Worship services

A cloister of accentuated stylistic variety

The king’s mark

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

Transformations over the centuries

The rediscovered chapel

Squaring the circle

The Kings’ Cathedrals

The longest aisle

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

A polysemy of high-level artistic forms and content

The transformations of the hall through the centuries

The cemetery of kings

The towers and the western facade

Gardens and architecture as a backdrop to the city of Palermo

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

The chystro: a place between earth and sky

The chorus: beating heart of the cathedral

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

The senses tell Context 1

A tree full of life

Roger II of hauteville: a sovereign protected by God

A palimpsest of history

A new Cathedral

Layers of different cultures decorate the external apses

Artistic elements in Peter’s ship

Cefalù: settlement evidence through time

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

The Virgin Hodegetria

The original design

The lost chapel

The side aisles

The Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene

The towers facing the facade used as bell towers