Cefalù (town with 13.774 inhabitants in the province of Palermo), toghether with Taormina is one of the most important touristic destination in Sicily. It lies on the Sicilian Northern coast, about 70 kms from Palermo, on the slopes of a rock promontory, surrounded by the green of the Madonie Natural park.

Once fishing village, Cefalù has an exceptional position between its blue sea and the promontory in limestone, dominated by the Norman Cathedral standing out among a tengle of narrow streets.

The town has Greek origins (from the Greek word “Kefaloidion”, head or cape) reaches the top of the splendor under the Norman domination, expecially with the king Roger II, who decided in 1131 to build up a Cathedral. The tourist coming from Palermo meets an extraordinary panorama dominated by the “Rocca’’(rich on archeological remains) and the elegance of its golden-coloured Cathedral, The naturalistic beauties of the landscape are incorporated in the rich artistic patrimony of the town.

The heart of Cefalù are the central Piazza Duomo (Cathedral Square) and Corso Ruggero, with many narrow and caracteristic streets and small arches joining the constructions. Today the town is an equipped touristic center with hotels, villages and restaurants, but with an important historic past rich on Roman and Norman vestiges. In the historic centre the tourists have the opportunity to do shopping: clothing/ shoes stores, typical products, ceramics, enotheques etc.; for this reason many tourists decide to spend their journeys in Cefalù. The area of Cefalù, with its hill and mountain itineraries, allows nice walks in an unfouled nature offering a lot of natural landscapes and historic testimonies of the human presence during the past millenniums. Cefalù has been also the set of successfull movies, like ‘’Nuovo Cinema Paradiso’’ Oscar price winner,

The visit of the town starts with the the cathedral. As per a legend, it was built after a vote of the Norman king Roger II to Jesus Christ, escaped from a storm and landed on the beach of Cefalù in 1131. The cathedral faces the omonyme square, dominated by the church and surrounded by fine palaces, including that of the Diocese, shows clearly a Norman Style highlighted by the façade flanked by the towers and the apses.

Inside the mosaics (1.148) of the apse are very beautiful with vivid colours and goldplated. The imposant image of Jesus Christ Pantocrator dominates the upper apse side with his right hand blessing and the left one holding the holy book.

Corso Ruggero is the main street of Cefalù, dividing the town in two different sectors: on the west side the medieval district, a maze of alleys with steps, arches; the east side has a regular planimetry. In Corso Ruggero stands the Osterio Magno, residence wrongly attributed to King Ruggero II, later belonged to the Sicilian noble family Ventimiglia. The ancient part of the building is polychromatic, enriched by elegant two-lights windows of the XIII century. Very original for its structure is the Medieval Washhouse, called from the inhabitants ’’u ciumi’’ (the river), still used by the women years ago. It is the mouth of the Cefalino River that comes in Cefalù flowing underground, enforcing the ancestral link between sea and mountain that has incorporated the story of Cefalù into the Madonie territory. A visit worth also the Mandralisca Museum, that houses also the well known “Portrait of an unknown man” painted by Antonello da Messina and a Greek crater vase with the imagine of a tuna fish seller.

An interesting light trekking on the top of the promontory of Cefalù (270 meters), is to suggest. The first stretch of the path is flanked by the crenellated walls of the ancient town. From the top you can joy a nice overview of the Tyrrenian coast between Capo d’Orlando and Palermo, downstairs Cefalù with the promontory of Caldura on the eastside, with the remains of the watch-tower giving the name to that area. During some very clear days it is possible to watch the Eolian Isles, the volcanic Archipel in front of the Northern coast of the Messina province. The Rocca is the originary settlement of the town and among the remains of several ages, stands out a Greek-archaic megalitic building, called Diana Temple, built around a protohistoric cistern of IXth century b.C. During the Byzantine periode the inhabitans moved for security reasons to the Rocca and the remains of medieval settlements are clearly visible (cisterns, churches, houses, ovens). On the top are the ruins of a medieval castle of the XII-XIII century, recently restored, where Charles II was a prisoner. The building is rectangular with two towers. The Rocca has an important naturalistic interest with a luxuriant flora and some species of ornithology like a rare species of hawk.