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 balance between architecture and light

The mosaics of the apses

The Gualtiero Cathedral

Mosaic decoration

The decorated facade

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

The side aisles

Roger II of hauteville: a sovereign protected by God

The cultural substrate through time

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

Worship services

The Great Presbytery: a unique space for the cathedral

The Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene

The mosaics of the presbytery

A controversial interpretation

Transformations over the centuries

The chapel of St. Benedict

A space between the visible and the invisible

Beyond the harmony of proportions

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

Characteristics of religious architecture in the romanesque period

Squaring the circle

A mixture of styles pervades the floor decorations

The Great Restoration

The Cathedral over the centuries

Survey of the royal tombs

Under the crosses of the Bema

The southern portico

A remarkable ceiling

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

A cloister of accentuated stylistic variety

The Chapel of the Kings

A chapel by an unknown designer based on repeated symmetries

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

The cemetery of kings

Interior decorations

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

The area of the Sanctuary

The Bible carved in stone

The longest aisle

Two initially similar towers, varied over time

Porphyry sarcophagi: royalty and power

A Northern population

The medieval city amidst monasticism and feudal aristocracy

Cefalù: settlement evidence through time

A new Cathedral

The chorus: beating heart of the cathedral

A polysemy of high-level artistic forms and content

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

The original design

The stone bible

The towers and the western facade

The king’s mark

Palermo: the happiest city

The lost chapel

Gardens and architecture as a backdrop to the city of Palermo

A palimpsest of history

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

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

Ecclesia munita

A tree full of life

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

The beginning of the construction site

The Virgin Hodegetria

The dialogue between the architectures of the monumental complex

The towers facing the facade used as bell towers

From the Mosque to the Cathedral

Layers of different cultures decorate the external apses

The rediscovered chapel

Norman religious architecture with islamic influences in Sicily

The chystro: a place between earth and sky

The liturgical spaces of the protesis and the diaconicon

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

The construction of Monreale Cathedral: between myth and history

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

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

The transformations of the hall through the centuries

The chapel of san Castrense: an important renaissance work

Roger II’s strategic design

Artistic elements in Peter’s ship

The Kings’ Cathedrals

The senses tell Context 1