Posted by Izzy Lewis on Wednesday, May 17, 2017 in 2017 Blog post.

One experience of this past week was visiting the Cathedral in Piazza Duomo for Saturday evening mass, and then visiting it again in a tour with Vittoria. The mass was something I found particularly noteworthy, especially the subtle differences between the mass here and that of my parish back home. Hearing mass in a different language was fascinating. Even though I could not understand most of what was being said, I was still able to follow along.

On our tour to Cefalù with Vittoria, I learned many details about the Cathedral that I had not picked up on during mass. She told us how the Cathedral was built, and the (inaccurate) legend of the king who almost crashed at sea and vowed to build a church where he landed. Even though the famous mosaics were not available to be viewed, we were able to view the modern windows, which were put up not too long ago. At first glance, the windows look like abstract art. However, together they tell stories such as the Story of Creation. When someone exits the church, they pass underneath a large window that represents the Last Judgement.

On the outside, the Cathedral has arches that resemble Arabic art, while also reflecting the culture and style of the Normans who built it. On the inside, there’s Baroque art, mosaics, and modern abstract windows. The Cathedral is the culmination of old and new, and all the peoples who worshipped in it. Being the tallest and easiest to see building in Cefalù, it is a symbol of all the cultures that came together to make the town what it is today.

The Cathedral at Mass  https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3ZWYelPSIkLU3ZTN01ucE5oaGc/view?usp=sharing

The Judgment Window: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3ZWYelPSIkLclpaMGZSeDVIMmM/view?usp=sharing