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CEFALU |
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Despite the recent attentions of Club Med and a barrage of modern
building outside town, CEFALÙ remains a fairly small-scale fishing port,
partly by virtue of its geographical position - tucked onto every
available inch of a shelf of land beneath a fearsome crag, La Rocca.
Roger II founded a mighty cathedral here in 1131 and, as befitting one
of the most influential early European rulers, his church dominates the
skyline, the great twin towers of the facade rearing up above the flat
roofs of the medieval quarter. Naturally, it's the major attraction in
town, but most visitors are equally tempted by Cefalù's fine curving
sands - the main reason why the holiday companies have moved in in such
great numbers in recent years. Still, it's a pleasant town, and nothing
like as developed as Sicily's other package resort of Taormina.
Halfway along Corso Ruggero, the main pedestrianized road through the
old town, the Duomo (daily: summer 8am-noon & 3.30-9pm; winter closes
6.30pm) was built - partly at least - as Roger's thanks for fetching up
at Cefalù's safe beach in a violent storm. Inside, covering the apse and
presbytery, are the earliest and best-preserved of the Sicilian church
mosaics, dating from 1148. The mosaics follow a familiar pattern. Christ
Pantocrator dominates the central apse, underneath is the Madonna
flanked by archangels, and then the Apostles. Although minuscule in
comparison with those at Monreale , these mosaics are just as appealing
and, most interestingly, display a quite marked artistic tradition.
Forty years earlier than those in William's cathedral, they are
thoroughly Byzantine in concept: Christ's face is elongated, the
powerful eyes set close together, the outstretched hand flexed and
calming.
In high season, when Cefalù's tangibly Arabic, central grid of streets
is crowded with tourists, you'd do best to visit the cathedral early in
the morning, before succumbing to the lure of the long sandy beach
beyond the harbour. There are a couple of other places that are also
worth venturing to: the Museo Mandralisca (daily: 9am-7pm; Aug
9am-midnight; L8000/¬4.13), at Via Mandralisca 13 (across from Piazza
Duomo), has a wry Portrait of an Unknown Man by the fifteenth-century
Sicilian Master Antonello da Messina; and La Rocca , the mountain above
the town, holds the megalithic so-called Tempio di Diana, from where
paths continue right around the crag, inside medieval walls, to the
sketchy fortifications at the very top. If you want to stay over, choose
between the very pleasant Pensione delle Rose (tel & fax 0921.421.885;
L90,000-120,000/¬46.48-61.98), at Via Gibilmanna, twenty minutes out of
town along Umberto I, where some of the rooms have private terraces, or
the pricier La Giara , in the heart of the old town at Via Veterani 40
(tel 0921.421.562, fax 0921.422.518; L150,000-200,000/¬77.47-103.29),
well-equipped, with an affable management and a big terrace. The best
place to eat on a budget is the Arkade Grill , off Corso Ruggero at Via
Vanni 9 (closed Thurs in winter), which offers a good-value tourist menu
in summer. For more elegant dining, the friendly La Brace , Via XXV
Novembre (closed Mon & mid-Dec to mid-Jan), serves a wonderful
two-course meal for around L28,000/¬14.56 (three courses for
L48,000/¬24.96). The tourist office is on the main street at Corso
Ruggero 77 (June-Sept Mon-Sat 8am-8.30pm; Oct-May Mon-Fri 8am-2.30pm &
3.30-7pm, Sat 9am-1pm; tel 0921.421.050) and has free maps and
accommodation lists. There are three hydrofoils a week to the Aeolian
Islands from mid-June to mid-September.
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