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

A cloister of accentuated stylistic variety

The senses tell Context 1

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

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

Gardens and architecture as a backdrop to the city of Palermo

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

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

The rediscovered chapel

The beginning of the construction site

Artistic elements in Peter’s ship

A chapel by an unknown designer based on repeated symmetries

The chapel of St. Benedict

The towers and the western facade

The cemetery of kings

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

The transformations of the hall through the centuries

Two initially similar towers, varied over time

The Virgin Hodegetria

The original design

The balance between architecture and light

A space between the visible and the invisible

Cefalù: settlement evidence through time

A new Cathedral

The southern portico

The construction of Monreale Cathedral: between myth and history

A palimpsest of history

The towers facing the facade used as bell towers

A polysemy of high-level artistic forms and content

Layers of different cultures decorate the external apses

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

Palermo: the happiest city

A controversial interpretation

The Great Presbytery: a unique space for the cathedral

The area of the Sanctuary

Roger II’s strategic design

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

Squaring the circle

The medieval city amidst monasticism and feudal aristocracy

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

Under the crosses of the Bema

The Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene

A tree full of life

Norman religious architecture with islamic influences in Sicily

The side aisles

The Cathedral over the centuries

The king’s mark

Characteristics of religious architecture in the romanesque period

The Great Restoration

Mosaic decoration

From the Mosque to the Cathedral

The Bible carved in stone

Ecclesia munita

The longest aisle

Beyond the harmony of proportions

The liturgical spaces of the protesis and the diaconicon

Survey of the royal tombs

The stone bible

The mosaics of the presbytery

The chorus: beating heart of the cathedral

The lost chapel

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

Interior decorations

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

Transformations over the centuries

The chapel of san Castrense: an important renaissance work

The Chapel of the Kings

A Northern population

The decorated facade

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

Roger II of hauteville: a sovereign protected by God

The Gualtiero Cathedral

The cultural substrate through time

A mixture of styles pervades the floor decorations

Porphyry sarcophagi: royalty and power

The Kings’ Cathedrals

The mosaics of the apses

A remarkable ceiling

The chystro: a place between earth and sky

Worship services

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

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

The dialogue between the architectures of the monumental complex