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.

Gardens and architecture as a backdrop to the city of Palermo

Layers of different cultures decorate the external apses

Cefalù: settlement evidence through time

The decorated facade

The longest aisle

The towers facing the facade used as bell towers

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

Norman religious architecture with islamic influences in Sicily

The Chapel of the Kings

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

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

The king’s mark

Transformations over the centuries

The construction of Monreale Cathedral: between myth and history

A cloister of accentuated stylistic variety

A palimpsest of history

The area of the Sanctuary

Two initially similar towers, varied over time

The towers and the western facade

Roger II’s strategic design

A polysemy of high-level artistic forms and content

Squaring the circle

The Virgin Hodegetria

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

Worship services

Mosaic decoration

A controversial interpretation

Roger II of hauteville: a sovereign protected by God

Beyond the harmony of proportions

Porphyry sarcophagi: royalty and power

The chystro: a place between earth and sky

The senses tell Context 1

The liturgical spaces of the protesis and the diaconicon

The cemetery of kings

A tree full of life

The dialogue between the architectures of the monumental complex

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

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

Survey of the royal tombs

The Bible carved in stone

The balance between architecture and light

The mosaics of the presbytery

Artistic elements in Peter’s ship

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

The lost chapel

A mixture of styles pervades the floor decorations

The Kings’ Cathedrals

The cultural substrate through time

The Cathedral over the centuries

A space between the visible and the invisible

The Gualtiero Cathedral

A new Cathedral

The chapel of St. Benedict

The Great Presbytery: a unique space for the cathedral

The beginning of the construction site

A Northern population

The Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene

From the Mosque to the Cathedral

Ecclesia munita

A remarkable ceiling

Interior decorations

The stone bible

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

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

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

The southern portico

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

The original design

The rediscovered chapel

The chapel of san Castrense: an important renaissance work

A chapel by an unknown designer based on repeated symmetries

The medieval city amidst monasticism and feudal aristocracy

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

The transformations of the hall through the centuries

The chorus: beating heart of the cathedral

The side aisles

The Great Restoration

Under the crosses of the Bema

Characteristics of religious architecture in the romanesque period

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

Palermo: the happiest city

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

The mosaics of the apses