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.

A palimpsest of history

Roger II’s strategic design

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

Layers of different cultures decorate the external apses

The Chapel of the Kings

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

The Cathedral over the centuries

The towers facing the facade used as bell towers

A polysemy of high-level artistic forms and content

The decorated facade

From the Mosque to the Cathedral

A remarkable ceiling

The Virgin Hodegetria

The rediscovered chapel

A Northern population

Mosaic decoration

Interior decorations

Ecclesia munita

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

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

A space between the visible and the invisible

The mosaics of the presbytery

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

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

Artistic elements in Peter’s ship

The beginning of the construction site

Porphyry sarcophagi: royalty and power

The Gualtiero Cathedral

Survey of the royal tombs

The southern portico

A controversial interpretation

Beyond the harmony of proportions

The Great Restoration

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

The area of the Sanctuary

The Great Presbytery: a unique space for the cathedral

The longest aisle

Squaring the circle

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

The cultural substrate through time

The Kings’ Cathedrals

Cefalù: settlement evidence through time

A mixture of styles pervades the floor decorations

The liturgical spaces of the protesis and the diaconicon

A tree full of life

The Bible carved in stone

Roger II of hauteville: a sovereign protected by God

The king’s mark

The chapel of san Castrense: an important renaissance work

The original design

The lost chapel

The chapel of St. Benedict

The dialogue between the architectures of the monumental complex

The side aisles

Characteristics of religious architecture in the romanesque period

The chystro: a place between earth and sky

A new Cathedral

The senses tell Context 1

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

The cemetery of kings

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

Under the crosses of the Bema

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

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

Palermo: the happiest city

The mosaics of the apses

The towers and the western facade

Worship services

A cloister of accentuated stylistic variety

The stone bible

Gardens and architecture as a backdrop to the city of Palermo

The Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene

Two initially similar towers, varied over time

The balance between architecture and light

Transformations over the centuries

Norman religious architecture with islamic influences in Sicily

The medieval city amidst monasticism and feudal aristocracy

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

The chorus: beating heart of the cathedral

The transformations of the hall through the centuries

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

A chapel by an unknown designer based on repeated symmetries

The construction of Monreale Cathedral: between myth and history