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 area of the Sanctuary

The Chapel of the Kings

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

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

The senses tell Context 1

The Great Presbytery: a unique space for the cathedral

The original design

A controversial interpretation

Porphyry sarcophagi: royalty and power

Layers of different cultures decorate the external apses

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

The chorus: beating heart of the cathedral

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

Beyond the harmony of proportions

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

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

The medieval city amidst monasticism and feudal aristocracy

The cultural substrate through time

The chapel of St. Benedict

From the Mosque to the Cathedral

A remarkable ceiling

Norman religious architecture with islamic influences in Sicily

Roger II of hauteville: a sovereign protected by God

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

Cefalù: settlement evidence through time

Worship services

The Virgin Hodegetria

The decorated facade

Interior decorations

A Northern population

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

The Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene

The Great Restoration

A chapel by an unknown designer based on repeated symmetries

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

The side aisles

A polysemy of high-level artistic forms and content

A mixture of styles pervades the floor decorations

A cloister of accentuated stylistic variety

The mosaics of the presbytery

The towers facing the facade used as bell towers

A new Cathedral

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

The Cathedral over the centuries

Two initially similar towers, varied over time

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

Transformations over the centuries

The construction of Monreale Cathedral: between myth and history

The chystro: a place between earth and sky

Gardens and architecture as a backdrop to the city of Palermo

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

The cemetery of kings

The dialogue between the architectures of the monumental complex

A palimpsest of history

The longest aisle

Characteristics of religious architecture in the romanesque period

The balance between architecture and light

Under the crosses of the Bema

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

Mosaic decoration

The Bible carved in stone

The Gualtiero Cathedral

The Kings’ Cathedrals

The transformations of the hall through the centuries

Ecclesia munita

The rediscovered chapel

The liturgical spaces of the protesis and the diaconicon

The king’s mark

The towers and the western facade

Survey of the royal tombs

The stone bible

A space between the visible and the invisible

Palermo: the happiest city

A tree full of life

The beginning of the construction site

Squaring the circle

The southern portico

Artistic elements in Peter’s ship

Roger II’s strategic design

The mosaics of the apses

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

The chapel of san Castrense: an important renaissance work

The lost chapel