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.

Transformations over the centuries

The towers facing the facade used as bell towers

The Great Restoration

A new Cathedral

Under the crosses of the Bema

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

Squaring the circle

The stone bible

The cultural substrate through time

A tree full of life

The Gualtiero Cathedral

A palimpsest of history

The original design

The lost chapel

A controversial interpretation

Artistic elements in Peter’s ship

Layers of different cultures decorate the external apses

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

The balance between architecture and light

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

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

A cloister of accentuated stylistic variety

Roger II of hauteville: a sovereign protected by God

The chystro: a place between earth and sky

The Chapel of the Kings

A Northern population

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

A mixture of styles pervades the floor decorations

The southern portico

The medieval city amidst monasticism and feudal aristocracy

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

Mosaic decoration

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

The liturgical spaces of the protesis and the diaconicon

Cefalù: settlement evidence through time

The towers and the western facade

The Virgin Hodegetria

The Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene

Roger II’s strategic design

The beginning of the construction site

A space between the visible and the invisible

The Kings’ Cathedrals

Worship services

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

The rediscovered chapel

The area of the Sanctuary

Characteristics of religious architecture in the romanesque period

The side aisles

The king’s mark

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

Beyond the harmony of proportions

Gardens and architecture as a backdrop to the city of Palermo

The dialogue between the architectures of the monumental complex

The Great Presbytery: a unique space for the cathedral

A remarkable ceiling

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

The senses tell Context 1

The transformations of the hall through the centuries

Survey of the royal tombs

The Cathedral over the centuries

The mosaics of the presbytery

Palermo: the happiest city

A polysemy of high-level artistic forms and content

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

The chorus: beating heart of the cathedral

Norman religious architecture with islamic influences in Sicily

The construction of Monreale Cathedral: between myth and history

The mosaics of the apses

The longest aisle

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

A chapel by an unknown designer based on repeated symmetries

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

The chapel of san Castrense: an important renaissance work

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

From the Mosque to the Cathedral

The chapel of St. Benedict

Two initially similar towers, varied over time

The Bible carved in stone

The cemetery of kings

Ecclesia munita

Interior decorations

Porphyry sarcophagi: royalty and power

The decorated facade