Cefalù Cathedral
context 3

The senses tell the context 3

sight
A majestic rock mass

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 at different times and hierarchically dependent on the cathedral. These include the cloister, the bishop’s palace, the seminary with its adjoining courtyard and the Turniale, which dates from a later period, and are distributed along the northern side of the church. The latter appears as a large embankment functioning as a churchyard, also used as a burial place.

The Gualtiero Cathedral

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

The Cathedral over the centuries

The senses tell Context 1

Gardens and architecture as a backdrop to the city of Palermo

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

The original design

Survey of the royal tombs

The Great Presbytery: a unique space for the cathedral

The chystro: a place between earth and sky

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

Interior decorations

The chorus: beating heart of the cathedral

The Chapel of the Kings

Porphyry sarcophagi: royalty and power

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

The Great Restoration

The stone bible

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

Two initially similar towers, varied over time

The towers facing the facade used as bell towers

The dialogue between the architectures of the monumental complex

Roger II of hauteville: a sovereign protected by God

The cemetery of kings

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

A cloister of accentuated stylistic variety

The southern portico

Worship services

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

The Bible carved in stone

Cefalù: settlement evidence through time

From the Mosque to the Cathedral

The construction of Monreale Cathedral: between myth and history

Under the crosses of the Bema

The area of the Sanctuary

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

Mosaic decoration

The king’s mark

Transformations over the centuries

The Virgin Hodegetria

A Northern population

The lost chapel

The chapel of St. Benedict

The balance between architecture and light

The Kings’ Cathedrals

The liturgical spaces of the protesis and the diaconicon

Squaring the circle

The side aisles

The chapel of san Castrense: an important renaissance work

A polysemy of high-level artistic forms and content

Norman religious architecture with islamic influences in Sicily

The cultural substrate through time

The rediscovered chapel

A new Cathedral

The decorated facade

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

The beginning of the construction site

Ecclesia munita

A chapel by an unknown designer based on repeated symmetries

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

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

A remarkable ceiling

A controversial interpretation

Characteristics of religious architecture in the romanesque period

Roger II’s strategic design

A space between the visible and the invisible

A palimpsest of history

The mosaics of the apses

The longest aisle

The transformations of the hall through the centuries

The towers and the western facade

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

Artistic elements in Peter’s ship

Layers of different cultures decorate the external apses

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

A mixture of styles pervades the floor decorations

The mosaics of the presbytery

A tree full of life

The Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene

Palermo: the happiest city

Beyond the harmony of proportions

The medieval city amidst monasticism and feudal aristocracy