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 dialogue between the architectures of the monumental complex

A new Cathedral

The king’s mark

The mosaics of the apses

Cefalù: settlement evidence through time

Characteristics of religious architecture in the romanesque period

Layers of different cultures decorate the external apses

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

The lost chapel

From the Mosque to the Cathedral

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

A tree full of life

Under the crosses of the Bema

The construction of Monreale Cathedral: between myth and history

The towers and the western facade

The stone bible

The chystro: a place between earth and sky

The side aisles

Palermo: the happiest city

A chapel by an unknown designer based on repeated symmetries

The area of the Sanctuary

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

Roger II of hauteville: a sovereign protected by God

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

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

The Cathedral over the centuries

Roger II’s strategic design

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

Squaring the circle

Artistic elements in Peter’s ship

A polysemy of high-level artistic forms and content

Interior decorations

A space between the visible and the invisible

Beyond the harmony of proportions

Ecclesia munita

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

The medieval city amidst monasticism and feudal aristocracy

Mosaic decoration

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

Transformations over the centuries

The chorus: beating heart of the cathedral

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

The chapel of san Castrense: an important renaissance work

The mosaics of the presbytery

The senses tell Context 1

The original design

A cloister of accentuated stylistic variety

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

Two initially similar towers, varied over time

Porphyry sarcophagi: royalty and power

Survey of the royal tombs

The Kings’ Cathedrals

The Bible carved in stone

The Great Presbytery: a unique space for the cathedral

The balance between architecture and light

The decorated facade

Norman religious architecture with islamic influences in Sicily

The chapel of St. Benedict

The cemetery of kings

The cultural substrate through time

A Northern population

The transformations of the hall through the centuries

The southern portico

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

The longest aisle

The beginning of the construction site

The Great Restoration

A remarkable ceiling

The liturgical spaces of the protesis and the diaconicon

The Gualtiero Cathedral

The rediscovered chapel

The Chapel of the Kings

A palimpsest of history

Gardens and architecture as a backdrop to the city of Palermo

A controversial interpretation

Worship services

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

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

The Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene

A mixture of styles pervades the floor decorations

The towers facing the facade used as bell towers

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

The Virgin Hodegetria