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 towers and the western facade

Roger II of hauteville: a sovereign protected by God

The mosaics of the apses

Transformations over the centuries

Ecclesia munita

The chapel of san Castrense: an important renaissance work

The southern portico

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

The rediscovered chapel

The Great Restoration

The Bible carved in stone

Palermo: the happiest city

A cloister of accentuated stylistic variety

The Great Presbytery: a unique space for the cathedral

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

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

Under the crosses of the Bema

Squaring the circle

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

A tree full of life

The transformations of the hall through the centuries

A space between the visible and the invisible

Interior decorations

The beginning of the construction site

The cultural substrate through time

A chapel by an unknown designer based on repeated symmetries

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

Roger II’s strategic design

A controversial interpretation

The Cathedral over the centuries

The Chapel of the Kings

Gardens and architecture as a backdrop to the city of Palermo

The cemetery of kings

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

Cefalù: settlement evidence through time

The king’s mark

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

The area of the Sanctuary

Norman religious architecture with islamic influences in Sicily

Artistic elements in Peter’s ship

Beyond the harmony of proportions

The liturgical spaces of the protesis and the diaconicon

The medieval city amidst monasticism and feudal aristocracy

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

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

The Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene

The original design

The decorated facade

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

A new Cathedral

The balance between architecture and light

Two initially similar towers, varied over time

The senses tell Context 1

Mosaic decoration

The Kings’ Cathedrals

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

Worship services

A palimpsest of history

The lost chapel

Porphyry sarcophagi: royalty and power

Survey of the royal tombs

A polysemy of high-level artistic forms and content

The mosaics of the presbytery

The chapel of St. Benedict

Characteristics of religious architecture in the romanesque period

The Virgin Hodegetria

Layers of different cultures decorate the external apses

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

The Gualtiero Cathedral

From the Mosque to the Cathedral

A remarkable ceiling

The side aisles

The longest aisle

The chystro: a place between earth and sky

The construction of Monreale Cathedral: between myth and history

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

The chorus: beating heart of the cathedral

A Northern population

The stone bible

The dialogue between the architectures of the monumental complex

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

A mixture of styles pervades the floor decorations