Cefalù is a little and charming town on the North tip of Sicily, about 70 kilometres from Palermo. The town got a high touristic relevance only in these recent years, due to a its charming landscape and architectural style. The town lies on a rock cliff overhanging the Tyrrhenian sea, while the surface of the sea level is surrounded by a sandy and shining beach, included among the best beaches of Italy. For this reason, the town is also among the most visited places of Sicily, especially in the summer, where tourists coming from the rest of Italy and the world crowd its hotels, bars and restaurants. The most important touristic attractions of Cefalù are the beach, the village hanged on a towering rocky cliff and its monuments, such as churches, temple ruins and the cathedral. Indeed, for these monuments, the town is regarded as an important destination to visit along with Palermo and Monreale. The monuments of Cefalù also hide an ominous secret. In 1920, indeed, this town was the home of an occultist who built his abbey near the cemetery. For its stunning beauty, in 2015 Cefalù was included by Unesco in the list of the world heritages and in the list of the best hamlets of Italy. The landscape of the town is also included in the famous Parco dei Nebrodi, where tourists can also admire the most spectacular mountains of Sicily.
History
The foundation of Cefalù dates back to the Greek period. The name has indeed a Greek origin and mean head or crown due to the form of the rocky cliff that protected the village from the sea storms. There are no official mentions about this historical origin, but it is probable that the town was founded by the inhabitants of Himera, escaped to Sicily after the destruction of their temple. Later, Cefalù was conquered by the Romans, Byzantines, Arabs and Normans and it is for this reason that its architectural style is very similar to other medieval towns. However, Cefalù has a further important feature: it looks like a real medieval stronghold and all this allows you to do an unforgettable travel to the past.
What to see
In Cefalù, you can admire several monuments, the most important are: The cathedral ( see the image), 16 churches, religious palaces, other palaces belonged to noble Sicilian people, the Mount of Pity, the medieval lavatory, the Municipal Theatre , the Temple of Diana, and the remains of the Abbey of Thelema . The cathedral was founded by the King Roger II in 1131 and it was never finished. It is said it was built on a promise the king made to God after surviving a storm on the sea. Its architectural style is very similar to the other famous cathedral of Monreale, with a mosaic of Christ Pantocrator, columns and Norman architecture. The style of the cathedral resembles to a real medieval fortress, both in and outside. The other churches were built between the 1400 and 1700, they have a Doric and Baroque style. The Monte di Pietà (Mount of Pity) is also very interesting to visit. Founded by a Sicilian bishop in 1703, this edifice also keeps a XVIII century furniture and the strongbox where bishops kept jewels and precious left by people in need. The medieval lavatory was a public lavatory where people washed their clothes in the Middle Age. This monument was fully recovered in 1991. It has a lava stone stair that takes to a smooth pavement and to a series of tanks filled with the waters running from 22 cast iron mouths. The Municipal Theatre has had a complicated and tormented history. Closed and reopened several times, it was also used as a leper hospital on the occasion of plague outbreak. On the top of the rocky cliff, you can also admire a Saracen castle and the Temple of Diana. The latter is a megalithic structure which was perhaps destined to pagan deities worship. Built with framed rock blocks in the IX century B.C , the temples were recovered in the II century B.C .
The Abbey of Thelema
This monument is perhaps the most controversial and disquieting edifice placed in Cefalù. It was indeed built by occultist Aleyster Crowley in 1920. He was also defined a sorcerer and a necromancer. Drug addicted, this occultist came to Sicily with the purpose to found a new sect devoted to a deity called Thelema. He also managed to gather several prostitutes who, along with him, did strange sex rituals, such as have sex with goats. The Abbey, where the followers of Aleyster Crowley also smoked cocaine, was built near the cemetery of Cefalù. The sorcerer was arrested in 1923 because of his immoral behavior and banished from Italy by Benito Mussolini. Today, the Abbey is only an abandoned and decaying edifice ( see the mage).
How to reach Cefalù
From Palermo Airport: rent a car or take a bus and drive along the highway in the direction of Palermo and then go toward to the direction of Messina, in the so called highway A20. Continue this path up to the exit of Cefalù. From Catania Airport: follow the highway A19 in the direction of Palermo and up to the exit of Buonfornello, hence, take the highway A 20 in the direction in Messina up to the exit of Cefalù. In the town, there are also several buses that can bring you to Palermo, Messina and Milazzo, where you can also take ferries to visit the Aeolian Islands.
CEFALU’ HOTELS AND ACCOMMODATIONS
Hotels and accommodations in Cefalù can be very expensive in the summer. The most expensive are the ones near the beach. However, they are fairly picturesque and comfortable. The rental houses in the downtown are less expensive. Some of them are very nice and likewise comfortable. To book your favourite accommodation in Cefalù, you can see here.
Rosalba Mancuso is a freelance journalist born in Sicily. Passionate about her loved island and with extensive writing experience, Rosalba worked as a contributor to the main Sicily’s newspapers and as a bilingual Italian – English writer. Thanks to her skills, she also founded four websites in English. On Sicilyonweb, Rosalba tells every corner of her beloved Sicily. Furthermore, she writes this blog thanks to your help. Rosalba, in fact, earns a small commission, with no cost for you, when you book your travel or buy products through the affiliate widgets or links you find in her posts.
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