The teme of the apses in the Norman Cathedrals of Palermo and Cefalù between history, historiography
and restorations
The essay intend to illustrate the main features of the Norman apses of the Cathedrals of Palermo and
Cefalù, with specific reference to the rôle of the cleristory in the internal area of the presbitery. These
areas, in sicilian architecture in which arab, byzantine and norman characters are hybridized in an original
mixité, have been the subject of a rich historiographical production, to which today we can add the new
acquisitions resulting from recent restorations.
The interpretation of history and of the transformations that have involved complexes of such high value,
experienced through documents and critical reasoning on the reliefs with the hypothesis of restitution,
offers itself as a contribution to the problematic matters between history and project for a restoration that,
for the primary purpose of conservation, it cannot ignore the recognition of the value necessary to develop
a critical awareness that substantiates, in the choice, the ‘cultural’ character.
