A Norman cathedral under the rock and a beach in the old town
Cefalù, an hour east of Palermo, is one of the most beautiful seaside towns in Sicily: a medieval centre squeezed between a huge limestone rock, the Rocca, and a sandy beach where the old houses rise straight from the water.
In the middle stands the cathedral, begun in 1131 by King Roger II, who according to legend vowed to build it after surviving a storm at sea. Its two massive towers dominate the town, and inside the apse holds a magnificent Byzantine mosaic of Christ Pantocrator; it is part of the UNESCO Arab-Norman site. In the lanes below, the medieval lavatoio, a washhouse fed by a spring, and the Mandralisca Museum, with Antonello da Messina's Portrait of an Unknown Man, are worth seeing.
Tip: climb the Rocca for the view and the ruins of the Temple of Diana; the beach is crowded in summer, so arrive early.
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