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Cefalù
In the Madonie Mountains behind Cefalù lies Castelbuono, its little rose-coloured stone houses huddled under the protection of the enormous castello, not at all forbidding, although reputed to be haunted by several ghosts. On the surrounding mountainsides the inhabitants collect sap from the manna-ash trees, used for medicinal purposes and confectionery, the only place in the world where this is still done. To top of page |
Under the great head-shaped rock which gives it its name, Kephalé
in Greek, and with its stunning cathedral, Cefalù is a picturesque
town with a sandy beach. The old cobbled streets are still medieval in character,
with many enticing shops, restaurants and cafés. The Norman cattedrale,
with its two artfully different bell-towers, built by King Roger II in 1131,
dominates the whole town. The luminous interior, now stripped of its later
Baroque additions, reveals the 16 stone columns from a nearby Roman temple,
the wooden ceiling, still bearing traces of painting, the rather controversial
modern stained glass windows, and the exquisite mosaics in the presbytery,
the oldest and the best-preserved in Sicily. They are perhaps the work of
craftsmen from Constantinople, summoned here by Roger himself. In the main
apse is the figure of Christ Pantocrator, Lord of All, his expressive face
with its wayward locks of hair on the forehead, thought to be the portrait
of Christ closest to the image on the Turin Shroud. Near the cathedral is
the Museo Mandralisca, the interesting collections of a Sicilian aristocrat.
Not to be missed here is the enigmatic portrait by Antonello da Messina
of the Unknown Man , perhaps a sailor; Antonello was one of the first masters
of the art of revealing the personality of his sitters.