SICILY- Cefalu’ and the Town of Pottery.
Discovering Some of the Gemstones of Italy, Would Turn your Holiday Around.
It’ s pronounced chef-a-loo, with the stress on the accented last syllable and it’s here that Roger II would commission one of the most beautiful Domes of Italy. Built in the 12th Century, it much resembles a fortress with its soaring twin towers and elaborate Byzantine mosaics.
The town, on the north coast of the Italian Island, is an amazing and picturesque example of Byzantine, Norman, Arab and Italian cultures coming all together. Back in town visitors can admire the picturesque harbour, alleys and medieval buildings. Cefalu’ has one of Sicliy’s finest beaches and everything is so postcard-pretty that director Giuseppe Tornatore chose it to set his Academy Awarded film: Cinema Paradiso.
Less than one hour drive from Cefalu’, you find Santo Stefano di Camastra. Definitely unknown to many people, is actually a very important centre for the production of ceramics as much as it ’s also called The Town of Pottery.
Beautiful and colourful ceramic tiles decorate streets and building of this lovely little village
This art is one of the oldest of the Sicilian traditions and it looks like it was imported in Italy from the Spanish. As a matter of fact, Italians use the word ‘ maiolica’ to mean tile and it is the term that refers back to Majorca.
Early maioliche were decorated in just two colors: manganese–brown and copper-green. Between 1350 and 1460 improvements were made in kilns and glazes which established the polychrome decoration that is now associated with Renaissance ceramics.
A walk through its streets is a walk among colorful shops with rue masterpieces: the most traditional and picturesque mosaics and tiles.
To get to Cefalu’, you need to fly into Palermo Airport. From there take E90 for about 1 hour drive.
