Arriving on a Friday afternoon to an undeniably picturesque resort town was definitely a mistake. Everyone was maximising the last days of summer, escaping Palermo (only an hour away) and the beaches were jam packed with colourful umbrellas. People were enjoying a slow passagiata while eating gelato or reclining in the many cafes flanking the promenade.
Cefalu is a nightmare as far as parking goes. Not a square inch is available and it was hard to navigate the narrow one-way streets crawling with cars to even get to our abode. Although it’s always nice to reside in the Centro storica, having a car makes it so much more challenging. After completing a couple of loops with no sign of a bay, Geoff eventually dropped me and our luggage on a street corner not too far from our place (unfortunately it was a restricted traffic zone (ZTL) where non residents’ vehicles are not allowed, so we anticipated our first fine!) and went off to find parking quite a distance away. So much for being granted an earlier check in…..
Our studio apartment for the night was Casa dei Normanni in Via Vanni which couldn’t be more central once we’d schlepped our suitcases up the cobbled street and up the stairs. I’d envisaged a convenient quick stopover on our road trip but now I kind of wished we’d booked more than one night, mainly because the thought of moving again in the morning seemed unnecessarily exhausting.
We set out to explore and make the most of the gorgeous golden light of the late afternoon.
In Cefalu, one of the most important places to visit is the Duomo Piazza. In 1131, Roger II, the King of Sicily was caught in a sea storm, which ended with a terrible shipwreck. He promised that if he was spared, he would build a grand cathedral to honor the Holy Saviour. He fortunately survived and fulfilled his vow, beginning the construction of this magnificent church in the same year. Unfortunately, he died in 1154, so he was not able to see the Cathedral of Cefalu completed. Our studio was just a short stroll away from this beautiful building.
A wedding was in progress and we arrived just in time to watch the bridal couple exit the church and be greeted by all their friends and family. The church was still filled with flowers and was absolutely gorgeous.
We wandered around, content to get lost in the myriad of little alleys with their quaint cobbled streets, intriguing courtyards and small local souvenir shops.
Accessible through the medieval gate of the XVI century, Porta Pescara, we emerged onto the old harbour (known as Porticciolo) which is one of those places that makes photographers’ hearts best faster. Colourful fishing boats rested on the sand and folk were enjoying the last rays of sunshine on the small beach before heading off to aperitivo. The light was magnificent.
We found a little restaurant around the corner from our apartment and had a lovely meal. Once again we were joined by a friendly cat.
“Hac cephalinus abit quocunque salubror amne purior argento frigidiorque nive“. Here flows Cefalino, healthier than any other river, purer than silver, colder than snow.
With this Latin quote at the top of its staircase, the Lavatoio Medievale (medieval washing house) welcomes its visitors and displays its uniqueness among the attractions of Cefalù. The original medieval washing house was demolished in 1514. This used to be much closer to the sea and the city walls. Nevertheless, part of the current building still preserves the engineering work done to let the river flowing through 22 different basins used for washing clothes.
The legend says that the river Cefalino was created by the never-ending tears of a nymph who accidentally caused the death of her lover.
By this stage of our holiday, Geoff was also start to feel flu symptoms and we had to both dose ourselves with Corenza C ahead of the car journey to Aci Castello.
We had a quick stop for lunch at the AutoStrade for a sandwich and juice.
The roads are excellent, but we did marvel at the fact that the Sicilians insert a tunnel for absolutely no reason as the photo below demonstrates!
