Norman Sicily's jewel — a golden-mosaiced cathedral from 1131, a Byzantine Christ Pantocrator who has never been fully explained, and one of the Mediterranean's most perfectly framed beach towns
Cefalù (pop. 14,000) is a small fishing town on Sicily's north coast, 70 km east of Palermo, built on a narrow strip of land between a massive volcanic rock (the Rocca) and a crescent beach framed by the Madonie mountains. Its UNESCO-listed Norman Cathedral (begun 1131 by Roger II) contains the earliest and most complete example of Christ Pantocrator mosaic in Sicily — an image of extraordinary Byzantine power that Roger II used as a political statement of divine kingship. The cathedral's twin towers and golden apse are among the most-photographed architectural images in Sicily. The town belo…
Cefalù was settled by the Sicani people in prehistoric times; the Rocca above the town has a megalithic sanctuary (the 'Temple of Diana') from around the 9th century BCE whose stone basins may have been used for water collection or ritual. The Greeks colonized the coast and named it 'Kephaloidion'; Arab rule from 858 to 1063 created the medina-like street pattern that still exists. The Norman king Roger II survived a sea storm in 1128 and vowed to build a cathedral here if he reached shore safely; the Cattedrale di Cefalù was begun in 1131 and the extraordinary Christ Pantocrator (Byzantine m…