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 longest aisle

The mosaics of the apses

A palimpsest of history

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

The chapel of St. Benedict

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

The Bible carved in stone

Norman religious architecture with islamic influences in Sicily

The Gualtiero Cathedral

Roger II’s strategic design

The Cathedral over the centuries

Transformations over the centuries

Beyond the harmony of proportions

From the Mosque to the Cathedral

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

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

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

Ecclesia munita

Cefalù: settlement evidence through time

Layers of different cultures decorate the external apses

The cemetery of kings

The chystro: a place between earth and sky

The area of the Sanctuary

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

A cloister of accentuated stylistic variety

Under the crosses of the Bema

A tree full of life

The senses tell Context 1

The medieval city amidst monasticism and feudal aristocracy

A chapel by an unknown designer based on repeated symmetries

A space between the visible and the invisible

Porphyry sarcophagi: royalty and power

The Chapel of the Kings

The Kings’ Cathedrals

The towers and the western facade

The transformations of the hall through the centuries

A remarkable ceiling

A mixture of styles pervades the floor decorations

The decorated facade

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

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

Two initially similar towers, varied over time

The beginning of the construction site

Mosaic decoration

Squaring the circle

Roger II of hauteville: a sovereign protected by God

Palermo: the happiest city

The chorus: beating heart of the cathedral

A Northern population

The stone bible

The cultural substrate through time

The chapel of san Castrense: an important renaissance work

The lost chapel

The liturgical spaces of the protesis and the diaconicon

The king’s mark

The mosaics of the presbytery

A controversial interpretation

The rediscovered chapel

The construction of Monreale Cathedral: between myth and history

Interior decorations

Gardens and architecture as a backdrop to the city of Palermo

The dialogue between the architectures of the monumental complex

The Virgin Hodegetria

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

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

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

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

The Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene

Worship services

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

The Great Restoration

The southern portico

The original design

Survey of the royal tombs

The Great Presbytery: a unique space for the cathedral

A new Cathedral

A polysemy of high-level artistic forms and content

The side aisles

Characteristics of religious architecture in the romanesque period

The balance between architecture and light

Artistic elements in Peter’s ship

The towers facing the facade used as bell towers

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