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 Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene

Characteristics of religious architecture in the romanesque period

Roger II’s strategic design

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

The Kings’ Cathedrals

The liturgical spaces of the protesis and the diaconicon

Beyond the harmony of proportions

The balance between architecture and light

Roger II of hauteville: a sovereign protected by God

The cemetery of kings

Cefalù: settlement evidence through time

Interior decorations

Survey of the royal tombs

The dialogue between the architectures of the monumental complex

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

Artistic elements in Peter’s ship

The lost chapel

A polysemy of high-level artistic forms and content

The towers facing the facade used as bell towers

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

The construction of Monreale Cathedral: between myth and history

The stone bible

The Cathedral over the centuries

The Great Restoration

The side aisles

The beginning of the construction site

A space between the visible and the invisible

The cultural substrate through time

The towers and the western facade

Mosaic decoration

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

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

The southern portico

A controversial interpretation

A palimpsest of history

Ecclesia munita

The senses tell Context 1

Porphyry sarcophagi: royalty and power

The Chapel of the Kings

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

The chapel of san Castrense: an important renaissance work

Norman religious architecture with islamic influences in Sicily

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

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

A new Cathedral

The Virgin Hodegetria

Under the crosses of the Bema

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

The Gualtiero Cathedral

The Great Presbytery: a unique space for the cathedral

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

A tree full of life

A chapel by an unknown designer based on repeated symmetries

The transformations of the hall through the centuries

The chystro: a place between earth and sky

Two initially similar towers, varied over time

The decorated facade

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

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

The mosaics of the presbytery

Squaring the circle

A cloister of accentuated stylistic variety

A Northern population

The medieval city amidst monasticism and feudal aristocracy

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

The Bible carved in stone

The area of the Sanctuary

Gardens and architecture as a backdrop to the city of Palermo

Palermo: the happiest city

From the Mosque to the Cathedral

Transformations over the centuries

The rediscovered chapel

A remarkable ceiling

The longest aisle

A mixture of styles pervades the floor decorations

The original design

The mosaics of the apses

Worship services

The chorus: beating heart of the cathedral

Layers of different cultures decorate the external apses

The chapel of St. Benedict

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

The king’s mark