Cefalù Cathedral

Monument belonging to the multi-serial site "Arab-Norman Palermo and the Cathedrals of Cefalù and Monreale" included in the World Heritage List (WHL)

Year of enrollment in the WHL: 2015

Built in the XNUMXth and XNUMXth centuries, the cathedral is preceded by a large terrace parvis. The façade is framed by large towers, lightened by elegant mullioned windows and single lancet windows and surmounted by pyramidal cusps added in the fifteenth century and different from each other: one with a square plan and battlements in the shape of flames, while the other, with a plan octagonal and with Ghibelline merlons.

The fifteenth-century portico precedes the facade, with three arches (two ogival and one rounded) supported by four columns and with cross vaults

The two side apses are decorated on the top with crossed arches and carved corbels: datable between 1215 and 1223, they depict masks, animal heads and human figures in contorted positions. More recent are the corbels of the central apse, also arranged in a random way both above and below the cornice. The central apse originally had three large windows, which were closed for the construction of the apse mosaic, and a larger one with a pointed arch.

The interior is a Latin cross with three naves divided by two rows of columns with bases and capitals from the XNUMXnd century AD

Card insertion: Heritage Sicily

Source and Author Photos: Ignazio Caloggero