Monreale Cathedral
the context 2

The senses tell Context 2

sight
An important construction site

A building such as the Monreale Cathedral, outlined by a multiform stylistic syncretism, reflected a deep religious implication promoted by William II. The ruler succeeded in consolidating the Western Christian influence through a fruitful and peaceful dialogue with the Byzantine-Oriental and Muslim-Arab cultures from the very year of his coronation in 1172. Alongside the Cathedral, surrounded by a flourishing natural setting, work began on the foundation of the Royal Palace in the same year, followed in 1176 by the construction of the Benedictine Monastery adjacent to it.

Norman religious architecture with islamic influences in Sicily

Layers of different cultures decorate the external apses

The dialogue between the architectures of the monumental complex

A cloister of accentuated stylistic variety

Characteristics of religious architecture in the romanesque period

The construction of Monreale Cathedral: between myth and history

The balance between architecture and light

The chorus: beating heart of the cathedral

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

The Great Presbytery: a unique space for the cathedral

The cemetery of kings

Roger II’s strategic design

Mosaic decoration

Gardens and architecture as a backdrop to the city of Palermo

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

The towers facing the facade used as bell towers

The stone bible

The southern portico

The chapel of St. Benedict

Two initially similar towers, varied over time

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

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

Artistic elements in Peter’s ship

The medieval city amidst monasticism and feudal aristocracy

Interior decorations

The king’s mark

A new Cathedral

The Great Restoration

A remarkable ceiling

The Gualtiero Cathedral

A mixture of styles pervades the floor decorations

Under the crosses of the Bema

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

A controversial interpretation

The lost chapel

The side aisles

The senses tell Context 1

A palimpsest of history

The Cathedral over the centuries

Cefalù: settlement evidence through time

Survey of the royal tombs

The cultural substrate through time

Transformations over the centuries

The original design

The Kings’ Cathedrals

Worship services

The rediscovered chapel

The Chapel of the Kings

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

The beginning of the construction site

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

The Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene

Ecclesia munita

The mosaics of the apses

The Bible carved in stone

Palermo: the happiest city

The longest aisle

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

The transformations of the hall through the centuries

A space between the visible and the invisible

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

The liturgical spaces of the protesis and the diaconicon

Squaring the circle

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

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

The towers and the western facade

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

The chapel of san Castrense: an important renaissance work

The decorated facade

A polysemy of high-level artistic forms and content

A Northern population

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

The mosaics of the presbytery

The chystro: a place between earth and sky

Roger II of hauteville: a sovereign protected by God

Beyond the harmony of proportions

The area of the Sanctuary

From the Mosque to the Cathedral

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

A chapel by an unknown designer based on repeated symmetries

Porphyry sarcophagi: royalty and power

A tree full of life

The Virgin Hodegetria