In Cefalu: the Cathedral

April 25, 2019

Cefalu is a top destination for multiple reasons. There’s the beach and its striking setting of course, with the town spread below the impressive Rocca, the massive headland that presumably have the town it’s name. The town attracts millions of tourists each year, many of them day trippers from nearby Palermo.

Besides the setting and the tourism infrastructure, Cefalu has two essential features that you really shouldn’t miss: the cathedral, and the climb up the rock to view the ancient fortifications and take in the views along the coast. The first time we came to Cefalu we visited the cathedral, but didn’t manage to fit in the climb. This time we decided to ditch the bikes for the day and make time for both.

Cefalu Cathedral is another UNESCO listed site, under a designation that also covers Palermo and its churches. As we usually try to do, we arrived early, just as the cathedral doors opened, so that we could appreciate it before the tour groups started filling the space. This is really the best way - when we enter, we’re the only visitors and can really absorb the dimensions and grandeur of the space, reflect on it in silence, and look at it from multiple angles without the sight lines obstructed. By the time we leave a half hour later, the place already feels quite different.

This is also one of the best ways to see the town itself. We enjoy walking to and from the cathedral early, when there is enough street life to make it interesting but before the streets are so jammed that it’s difficult to fight your way through the crowds. At the end of the day, there are literally thousands of visitors crammed into its streets.

The staircase leading to the cathedral entrance.

This early in the morning, the cathedral is too backlit from the sun rising above the rock to get a decent shot. Instead, here’s a look from last night.

And here’s another out of sequence shot, looking down on the cathedral from this afternoon’s climb up to the fortress.

Via Roma, the principal commercial avenue through town.

On the way back to the room, we’re interrupted by this small procession leading up to some sort of event involving children from the town’s and villages of the region. We never did figure out what it was about - perhaps something associated with Earth Week, or with the date - today is Liberation Day, another Italian national holiday.

Rate this entry's writing	Heart	7
Comment on this entry	Comment	0