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.

Norman religious architecture with islamic influences in Sicily

The Great Restoration

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

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

Interior decorations

Beyond the harmony of proportions

The area of the Sanctuary

The stone bible

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

The medieval city amidst monasticism and feudal aristocracy

A new Cathedral

The balance between architecture and light

The Chapel of the Kings

Palermo: the happiest city

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

The decorated facade

The rediscovered chapel

The construction of Monreale Cathedral: between myth and history

The chorus: beating heart of the cathedral

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

The Great Presbytery: a unique space for the cathedral

Gardens and architecture as a backdrop to the city of Palermo

The mosaics of the apses

The cemetery of kings

The Gualtiero Cathedral

The longest aisle

The liturgical spaces of the protesis and the diaconicon

A palimpsest of history

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

Characteristics of religious architecture in the romanesque period

The king’s mark

The transformations of the hall through the centuries

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

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

The lost chapel

Artistic elements in Peter’s ship

A cloister of accentuated stylistic variety

The chapel of san Castrense: an important renaissance work

The cultural substrate through time

The chapel of St. Benedict

Mosaic decoration

Under the crosses of the Bema

The chystro: a place between earth and sky

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

A space between the visible and the invisible

The towers facing the facade used as bell towers

The side aisles

Roger II of hauteville: a sovereign protected by God

The dialogue between the architectures of the monumental complex

Roger II’s strategic design

Porphyry sarcophagi: royalty and power

The mosaics of the presbytery

The Cathedral over the centuries

Ecclesia munita

Survey of the royal tombs

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

The beginning of the construction site

Worship services

Two initially similar towers, varied over time

Cefalù: settlement evidence through time

A Northern population

A tree full of life

Squaring the circle

A chapel by an unknown designer based on repeated symmetries

A polysemy of high-level artistic forms and content

The Virgin Hodegetria

The southern portico

A controversial interpretation

From the Mosque to the Cathedral

The Kings’ Cathedrals

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

A remarkable ceiling

The Bible carved in stone

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

The senses tell Context 1

Transformations over the centuries

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

Layers of different cultures decorate the external apses

A mixture of styles pervades the floor decorations

The original design

The towers and the western facade

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

The Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene