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 towers and the western facade

The original design

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

A polysemy of high-level artistic forms and content

From the Mosque to the Cathedral

The transformations of the hall through the centuries

The Virgin Hodegetria

The liturgical spaces of the protesis and the diaconicon

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

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

The Bible carved in stone

A tree full of life

Mosaic decoration

The Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene

Two initially similar towers, varied over time

A chapel by an unknown designer based on repeated symmetries

Squaring the circle

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

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

The balance between architecture and light

The area of the Sanctuary

The medieval city amidst monasticism and feudal aristocracy

A Northern population

The king’s mark

The Great Restoration

The decorated facade

Interior decorations

The Chapel of the Kings

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

The dialogue between the architectures of the monumental complex

The southern portico

The chapel of St. Benedict

A mixture of styles pervades the floor decorations

The senses tell Context 1

The lost chapel

A remarkable ceiling

The rediscovered chapel

The mosaics of the apses

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 stone bible

Ecclesia munita

The beginning of the construction site

A cloister of accentuated stylistic variety

Roger II’s strategic design

The Kings’ Cathedrals

A palimpsest of history

The chystro: a place between earth and sky

Palermo: the happiest city

Worship services

Transformations over the centuries

Porphyry sarcophagi: royalty and power

The construction of Monreale Cathedral: between myth and history

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

The Great Presbytery: a unique space for the cathedral

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

The mosaics of the presbytery

Beyond the harmony of proportions

The cemetery of kings

Layers of different cultures decorate the external apses

The towers facing the facade used as bell towers

The chorus: beating heart of the cathedral

Roger II of hauteville: a sovereign protected by God

The Gualtiero Cathedral

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

The chapel of san Castrense: an important renaissance work

Artistic elements in Peter’s ship

A new Cathedral

Norman religious architecture with islamic influences in Sicily

The side aisles

Gardens and architecture as a backdrop to the city of Palermo

The Cathedral over the centuries

The longest aisle

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

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

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

A space between the visible and the invisible

A controversial interpretation

Survey of the royal tombs

Under the crosses of the Bema

Cefalù: settlement evidence through time

The cultural substrate through time

Characteristics of religious architecture in the romanesque period