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 beginning of the construction site

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

Under the crosses of the Bema

A mixture of styles pervades the floor decorations

A new Cathedral

A chapel by an unknown designer based on repeated symmetries

Artistic elements in Peter’s ship

The cemetery of kings

The towers and the western facade

The Gualtiero Cathedral

The original design

The chystro: a place between earth and sky

The chorus: beating heart of the cathedral

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

Roger II of hauteville: a sovereign protected by God

The chapel of san Castrense: an important renaissance work

Transformations over the centuries

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

Porphyry sarcophagi: royalty and power

The dialogue between the architectures of the monumental complex

The stone bible

Survey of the royal tombs

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

Norman religious architecture with islamic influences in Sicily

The side aisles

Ecclesia munita

Worship services

The Chapel of the Kings

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

Layers of different cultures decorate the external apses

A tree full of life

The Bible carved in stone

The area of the Sanctuary

Roger II’s strategic design

Beyond the harmony of proportions

From the Mosque to the Cathedral

The Kings’ Cathedrals

A palimpsest of history

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

The Cathedral over the centuries

The balance between architecture and light

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

The mosaics of the apses

The transformations of the hall through the centuries

Interior decorations

Mosaic decoration

The lost chapel

Cefalù: settlement evidence through time

The cultural substrate through time

The medieval city amidst monasticism and feudal aristocracy

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

Palermo: the happiest city

The senses tell Context 1

The Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene

The Virgin Hodegetria

Characteristics of religious architecture in the romanesque period

The longest aisle

A remarkable ceiling

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

The southern portico

The chapel of St. Benedict

A cloister of accentuated stylistic variety

Squaring the circle

The king’s mark

A controversial interpretation

Gardens and architecture as a backdrop to the city of Palermo

The decorated facade

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

The construction of Monreale Cathedral: between myth and history

A polysemy of high-level artistic forms and content

A space between the visible and the invisible

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

The Great Presbytery: a unique space for the cathedral

The liturgical spaces of the protesis and the diaconicon

The Great Restoration

The rediscovered chapel

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

A Northern population

The mosaics of the presbytery

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

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

The towers facing the facade used as bell towers

Two initially similar towers, varied over time