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 southern portico

The dialogue between the architectures of the monumental complex

Artistic elements in Peter’s ship

The side aisles

Roger II’s strategic design

A space between the visible and the invisible

Survey of the royal tombs

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

A new Cathedral

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

Two initially similar towers, varied over time

The rediscovered chapel

The decorated facade

Characteristics of religious architecture in the romanesque period

The mosaics of the apses

Roger II of hauteville: a sovereign protected by God

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

A cloister of accentuated stylistic variety

Transformations over the centuries

The Virgin Hodegetria

Layers of different cultures decorate the external apses

The area of the Sanctuary

Porphyry sarcophagi: royalty and power

The balance between architecture and light

The lost chapel

The Chapel of the Kings

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

The Great Presbytery: a unique space for the cathedral

The medieval city amidst monasticism and feudal aristocracy

Squaring the circle

Ecclesia munita

Under the crosses of the Bema

The construction of Monreale Cathedral: between myth and history

The chapel of san Castrense: an important renaissance work

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

Gardens and architecture as a backdrop to the city of Palermo

The liturgical spaces of the protesis and the diaconicon

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

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

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

The original design

The Gualtiero Cathedral

The beginning of the construction site

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

A palimpsest of history

A controversial interpretation

The cultural substrate through time

A tree full of life

Interior decorations

Cefalù: settlement evidence through time

The towers facing the facade used as bell towers

The chorus: beating heart of the cathedral

Mosaic decoration

The mosaics of the presbytery

The king’s mark

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

The Great Restoration

From the Mosque to the Cathedral

A mixture of styles pervades the floor decorations

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

A remarkable ceiling

The towers and the western facade

The Cathedral over the centuries

A polysemy of high-level artistic forms and content

A chapel by an unknown designer based on repeated symmetries

The longest aisle

The Bible carved in stone

Beyond the harmony of proportions

The senses tell Context 1

The chystro: a place between earth and sky

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

The Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene

The transformations of the hall through the centuries

The Kings’ Cathedrals

The cemetery of kings

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

The chapel of St. Benedict

Palermo: the happiest city

Norman religious architecture with islamic influences in Sicily

Worship services

The stone bible

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

A Northern population