Page 166 - The Rough Guide of Sicily

GETTING AROUND: CEFALÙ AND THE MONTI MADONIE

By bus and train A good train service makes it easy to see any of the coastal
destinations from Cefalù, and buses link to some inland destinations.

By car A car is definitely required if you’re intent on seeing much of the mountains.
Driving can be slow on the SS113 coastal road, along which traffic sometimes files at
a snail’s pace – it’s much faster on the A20 autostrada (a toll-road), which features
some outstanding feats of road engineering in the form of long tunnels and soaring
viaducts.

Cefalù

The finest resort on the long Tyrrhenian coast between Palermo and Messina is

CEFALÙ, 70km from the capital, with a long sandy beach and a dramatic setting
under the fearsome crag known as La Rocca. Roger II founded a mighty cathedral here
in 1131 and his mosaic-filled church still dominates the skyline: the great twin towers
rear up above the flat roofs of the medieval quarter, with the whole structure framed
by the looming cliff behind. The shady tangle of old streets and gift shops, and nearby
beach and promenade, are certainly touristy but also retain a real charm. Cefalù, in
fact, is nowhere near as developed as Sicily’s other main package resort, Taormina.

It’s busy in July and August, but never overwhelmingly so, and there’s a lot to be said
for making the town your base. Palermo is less than an hour away by train, and there
are smaller beaches and resorts on the rail line to the east, while it’s an easy drive
into the Monti Madonie to the south. The sandy beach is one of Sicily’s best, jam-
packed in summer, with sheltered swimming in clear waters and marvellous views

from the lungomare (promenade) over the red roofs of the town.

The old-town streets themselves are the best thing about Cefalù – a cobbled, tangibly
Arabic jumble of alleys with rows of washing stretched between houses, hidden
arches and flower-filled courtyards. The main Corso Ruggero is lined with attractive
buildings in various stages of well-tended decay. The Osterio Magno, on the corner
of Via Amendola and the Corso, is the surviving part of a medieval palace, now

regularly used for art exhibitions, while the lavatoio is a relic of the Saracen
occupation – a wash-house at the bottom of a curving staircase, with cold water
pouring forth into the basins. At the head of the Corso, a belvedere gives onto the old
Greek walls of Cefalù, largely incorporated into the later sixteenth-century defensive
bastion. A modern path has been cut into the rocks below, running in the direction of
the hydrofoil port, and you can clamber down here to explore the rock pools and

sunbathe on the slabs. Further around the headland, at the port, is a bay full of fishing
and leisure boats, and more strange rock stacks to investigate.