{"id":2896,"date":"2015-06-03T16:45:06","date_gmt":"2015-06-03T14:45:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/solemar-academy.com\/?page_id=2896"},"modified":"2023-06-16T09:04:13","modified_gmt":"2023-06-16T09:04:13","slug":"cefalu","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/solemar-academy.com\/en\/cefalu\/","title":{"rendered":"Cefalu by insiders – Sicily guide"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Cefalu<\/h2>\n

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You\u2019ve already seen Cefalu referred to as the Pearl of the Mediterranean. You\u2019ve read about its beaches, its Arab-Norman Cathedral, and more. You\u2019ve seen words like “beautiful”, “charming”, and “rustic”. All true. But we want to go further. We want to avoid these advertising cliches and offer a different perspective<\/strong> \u2013 one from insiders.<\/p>\n

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\"cefalu,<\/p>\n

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Imagine the traveler as a painter and his or her trip as a canvas to fill. Cefalu puts in your hands a rich palette of unique colors. And when you pick up your brush all you have to do is close your eyes and decide the colors you want.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Many when they think of Sicily first think of the blue<\/strong> of the Mediterranean and the gold<\/strong> of their beaches \u2013 and they\u2019re right. But there\u2019s also a bit of white<\/strong>. While it might sound crazy, one experience that is special in Sicily is the snow!<\/p>\n

That\u2019s right. There are mountains surrounding the city, and the snow always arrives right on time at the end of each year. In this area we are accustomed to skiing \u2013 you see, it\u2019s not all boats and fishermen.<\/p>\n

Another color for your painter\u2019s palette is green<\/strong>: the color of the countryside, rich in olive trees and plantlife of all kinds. A green that will become thicker and thicker if you enter the woods of the Madonie nature reserve. We recommend that you do, especially if you want to know the more authentic and rural side of Sicily.<\/p>\n

What else you can\u2019t you miss in your painter’s palette? Of course! Red<\/strong>!<\/p>\n

This is the color that will give character to your evenings in Cefalu, especially when you watch a sunset by the sea. Do it while sipping a glass of Syrah or Nero D’Avola. You will not want to be anywhere else.<\/p>\n

Blue, Yellow, Green, Red, White. Have fun seeing them, combining them – you will pull off something magical. And speaking of magic, don\u2019t forget black<\/strong>. Cefalu has a mysterious side, a side that is alive in the nighttime, almost occult. What are we talking about? To find out you’ll have to read to the bottom of the page.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/6″][vc_column_text]\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row row_type=”row” text_align=”left” css_animation=””][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][vc_column css_animation=”appear” width=”2\/3″][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1519236084316{margin-top: 30px !important;background-color: #e55039 !important;}”]\n

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History, Legends and Monuments<\/a><\/span><\/h2>\n

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Sea<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n

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Families<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n

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Cefalu’s Events<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n

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Winter<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n

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Video<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n

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Winter Events<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n

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Art<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n

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Magic<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n

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Legends, gossip, and the \u201cgoods\u201d on Cefalu<\/h2>\n

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If you plan your holidays in Cefalu according to an “official tourist guide”, you can expect an avalanche of boring information.<\/p>\n

But maybe you should get some information from other sources, and then decide for yourself whether there\u2019s anything boring about Cefalu.<\/p>\n

Here we\u2019ll give you the goods that no one else, either in person or on the internet will give you \u2013 with the rest if you come visit our school<\/a><\/strong>. In the meantime, start taking notes.<\/p>\n

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The origins of Cefalu<\/h3>\n

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The history of Cefalu begins in the days of the Greeks, when the first inhabitants had a small town on the Rock. Their life was concentrated around the Temple of Diana<\/a><\/strong>, still a pilgrimage destination for scholars and enthusiasts of archaeology.<\/p>\n

The geography and terrain made the city of Cefalu a virtually impenetrable fortress. In Roman times people started to fill up the area by the sea, and they built a wall to protect the town and laid out their town with a typical fishbone structure<\/strong>. Portions of the walls are still visible to the north, as well as parts of the four gates of the city. The only one which remains fully intact is at the marina: the splendid Porta Pescara.<\/p>\n

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Cefalu Cathedral and its symbols<\/h3>\n

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The way Cefalu currently looks, however, is basically due to the Normans. When the legendary Roger II decided to move his court from Palermo to Cefalu, in order to gain favor with the Pope he decided to give the city and the catholic church a cathedral (UNESCO World Heritage from 2015). Not just any basilica, but a real jewel for which Byzantine masters made the mosaics, Arab expert laborers were used, and a team of theologians to establish a precise visual narrative of the Transfiguration<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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\"cefalu,<\/a><\/p>\n

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Gold and light are protagonists of this narrative, completely devoted to recreating the scene in which Jesus goes up Mount Tabor in Palestine<\/strong> and on top of it becomes light and spirit, with the patriarch Moses to his left and the prophet Elijah to his right. When the faithful came up to the Cathedral (the cathedral really is elevated above the town center) they were dazzled by the light filtered through the windows and the gold mosaics.<\/p>\n

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Another link to the transfiguration narrative can be seen on the two towers. Though the towers may look identical at a distance, a close examination reveals something else: one tower\u2019s battlement is encircled by “flames<\/strong>” (the Old Testament tells of Elijah being carried to Heaven in flames). The other with Ghibelline merlons, also known as “table merlons<\/strong>” (representing Moses’ tablets). <\/span><\/p>\n

Light plays a central role in the building. <\/span>Indeed, one strange event occurs only once a year, a legacy of the legendary Norman King to this day: Every February 28<\/strong> a beam of sunlight passes through a small slit in the transept and shines with incredible precision upon the point where Roger II occupied his sarcophagus (though the body now lies in Palermo). Why is this so extraordinary? February 28th is not just any date: according to legend Roger II died on this day in 1154!<\/p>\n

If you are interested in the topic, Solemar organizes seminars<\/a> <\/strong>on legends, myths, and superstitions in Sicily – an excellent opportunity for you to learn valuable information on the more occult traditions of Sicilian culture.<\/p>\n

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The looming presence of the Sicilian Church<\/h3>\n

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Roger did not stop with the building of the Cathedral and the reorganization of the city. The Norman king decided to move the bishopric<\/strong>\u00a0to Cefalu, making it one of the most important and influential cities on the island. Bishops in Cefalu exercised a power often greater than that of political authorities: they were able to decide on every aspect of public life, and often came into conflict with city administrators. The bishops soon achieved a monopoly over charitable works, and established a sort of primitive lending bank<\/strong> (you will find the building in via Mandralisca) that they used to enrich themselves. They enjoyed full freedom in managing their financial affairs, thanks to which they were able to add a great number of properties to their portfolios including in the surrounding countryside. And they were able to undertake some pretty impressive projects. Take, for example, the reconstruction of the Cloister of the Cathedral<\/strong>: around 1600 the cloister was actually dismantled, the ground lowered nearly five meters, a chapter house and two chapels built, and the cloister completely reassembled. This scarcely necessary operation was done so that the Bishop would not have to walk through the Cathedral on his way to the Cloister, his home now connecting to it directly. Not cheap<\/strong>!<\/p>\n

The fact that there is a bishop in Cefalu has always had tremendous influence on public opinion in Cefalu, even today. The cefaludesi (natives of Cefalu) have an added level of piety knowing that theirs is the city that houses the bishop. Witness the stormy relationship the locals have to this day with magician Aleister Crowley<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0 to whom neither a museum nor even a marker has ever been dedicated – despite his being an international figure who lived in Cefalu, and who draws visitors to the city just for that reason every single year.<\/p>\n

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Of course, the reach of the Church extends beyond Cefalu. Did you know for example that the skull of St. Anne (the mother of Mary) was \u201cstolen\u201d by the Knights Templar and hidden in the region? Today it is located in Castelbuono, and for centuries was hidden and protected by the powerful Ventimiglia family, linked for many years to the religious establishment in Cefalu.<\/p>\n

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The medieval laundry<\/h3>\n

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The public can have strong opinions – and not just because of the Church. A wonderful spot also inherited from the Middle Ages is the Medieval Laundry (U Ciuni, i.e. \u201cthe river\u201d in Sicilian). In this magical place where the waters of the Cefalino<\/strong> river gather before flowing into the sea, cefaludesi<\/em> grandmothers used to wash clothes and make curtigghiu<\/em><\/strong> ( \u201cgossip\u201d in Sicilian). Who knows how many gory secrets were told and strong opinions expressed about so-and-so, how much \u201cdirt\u201d on the residents of Cefalu was washed away by the waters of this river! But fear not: some of these stories are still known. At our school, we have stories<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 both old and new \u2013 to paint you a picture of this wonderful place with its colorful residents.<\/p>\n

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Summer in Cefalu and the beach<\/h2>\n

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Well, it\u2019s obvious that those who plan to enjoy their holidays in Cefalu expect a beach holiday<\/strong>. But let’s face it, after a few days the beach can be a tad boring. And to be even more honest, there are times of year when the main beach becomes so supercrowded that you\u2019d better be prepared to do a little gymnastics with your sunbathing: long jumps to avoid walking on the beach towels of the other bathers, acrobatics to dodge frisbees and volleyballs. You may even need a road map to find your own corner of the beach.<\/p>\n

So here are some tips about the beaches from some true insiders for your benefit<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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