Aimee arrived safely home in the early hours of Saturday morning after a stressful, very delayed, journey in the midst of storm Eunice.
I drove a little further along the coast to Cefalù, a medieval town surrounded by mountains and sea
Wherever you walk you can see La Rocca towering behind
On the top of this striking rock are the remains of the old Saracen stronghold
Cefalù’s renowned for its cathedral, built in 1131
It is one of the many Arab-Norman monuments in Sicily which, collectively, were granted status as a UNESCO world heritage site. These monuments provide, in UNESCO’s words, “an outstanding example of a socio-cultural syncretism between Western, Islamic, and Byzantine cultures”
There were many other interesting historic buildings in Cefalù but one of my favourites was the medieval washouse, entirely carved out from the rock
This one isn’t used anymore but it reminded me of the many, very similar, washhouses I saw in remote parts of Portugal that were still relied upon by the local people.
The next day I crossed Sicily, leaving the west coast and heading to the east, ready to see the famous Valley of the Temples
This large archaeological park consists of eight Doric temples (and other remains) built between 510 and 430 BC
No words can really describe what it’s like walking in the shadow of these ancient temples, touching stones that were placed over 2500 years ago
This ancient Greek city ‘Akagras’ was conquered by the Carthagians (406BC) and then the Romans (210BC) and so you can see evidence of their time here too
A magical and fascinating day!