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

The balance between architecture and light

The cultural substrate through time

The Cathedral over the centuries

The Bible carved in stone

The dialogue between the architectures of the monumental complex

The Kings’ Cathedrals

The southern portico

Under the crosses of the Bema

Two initially similar towers, varied over time

The chapel of san Castrense: an important renaissance work

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

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

A tree full of life

Transformations over the centuries

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

The area of the Sanctuary

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

The Gualtiero Cathedral

Characteristics of religious architecture in the romanesque period

A chapel by an unknown designer based on repeated symmetries

A remarkable ceiling

The towers facing the facade used as bell towers

The senses tell Context 1

The rediscovered chapel

Layers of different cultures decorate the external apses

Ecclesia munita

Worship services

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

Mosaic decoration

Roger II’s strategic design

Interior decorations

The medieval city amidst monasticism and feudal aristocracy

Beyond the harmony of proportions

The transformations of the hall through the centuries

A mixture of styles pervades the floor decorations

A cloister of accentuated stylistic variety

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

From the Mosque to the Cathedral

The king’s mark

A Northern population

A controversial interpretation

The Great Restoration

Cefalù: settlement evidence through time

Porphyry sarcophagi: royalty and power

The cemetery of kings

Survey of the royal tombs

The mosaics of the apses

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

The longest aisle

The stone bible

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

A polysemy of high-level artistic forms and content

The lost chapel

The liturgical spaces of the protesis and the diaconicon

Gardens and architecture as a backdrop to the city of Palermo

The beginning of the construction site

The construction of Monreale Cathedral: between myth and history

A palimpsest of history

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

The Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene

Norman religious architecture with islamic influences in Sicily

The Virgin Hodegetria

The decorated facade

Artistic elements in Peter’s ship

The towers and the western facade

The mosaics of the presbytery

Palermo: the happiest city

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

A new Cathedral

The original design

The chapel of St. Benedict

The Chapel of the Kings

The side aisles

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

The chystro: a place between earth and sky

The chorus: beating heart of the cathedral

Roger II of hauteville: a sovereign protected by God

A space between the visible and the invisible

Squaring the circle

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

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

The Great Presbytery: a unique space for the cathedral