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.

Ecclesia munita

The dialogue between the architectures of the monumental complex

A polysemy of high-level artistic forms and content

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

The original design

The balance between architecture and light

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

The longest aisle

Two initially similar towers, varied over time

Roger II’s strategic design

A tree full of life

The area of the Sanctuary

The side aisles

The construction of Monreale Cathedral: between myth and history

The towers and the western facade

The Great Presbytery: a unique space for the cathedral

The chystro: a place between earth and sky

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

The mosaics of the apses

A mixture of styles pervades the floor decorations

The liturgical spaces of the protesis and the diaconicon

The lost chapel

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

The medieval city amidst monasticism and feudal aristocracy

A cloister of accentuated stylistic variety

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

The senses tell Context 1

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

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

The beginning of the construction site

Characteristics of religious architecture in the romanesque period

The chapel of St. Benedict

A controversial interpretation

The mosaics of the presbytery

The chapel of san Castrense: an important renaissance work

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

Cefalù: settlement evidence through time

Squaring the circle

From the Mosque to the Cathedral

A Northern population

Worship services

The Great Restoration

Beyond the harmony of proportions

The transformations of the hall through the centuries

A palimpsest of history

A chapel by an unknown designer based on repeated symmetries

The Virgin Hodegetria

The chorus: beating heart of the cathedral

The southern portico

The cultural substrate through time

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

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

Artistic elements in Peter’s ship

Layers of different cultures decorate the external apses

The Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene

A new Cathedral

The rediscovered chapel

Transformations over the centuries

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

The Bible carved in stone

The stone bible

The Kings’ Cathedrals

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

Palermo: the happiest city

Survey of the royal tombs

Interior decorations

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

Roger II of hauteville: a sovereign protected by God

The king’s mark

A remarkable ceiling

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

Mosaic decoration

Porphyry sarcophagi: royalty and power

Norman religious architecture with islamic influences in Sicily

The Cathedral over the centuries

Under the crosses of the Bema

The decorated facade

A space between the visible and the invisible

Gardens and architecture as a backdrop to the city of Palermo

The cemetery of kings

The Gualtiero Cathedral

The towers facing the facade used as bell towers

The Chapel of the Kings