![Raculmuto “Maurizio Di Gati (Italian pronunciation: [mauˈrittsjo di ˈɡaːti]; born July 10, 1966 in Racalmuto) is a Sicilian mafioso and considered to be the boss of the Agrigento province before his arrest in November 2006.”](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59a85b6d8419c278e3002b76/1693087831472-GB13092IJCY082KZ6C3H/79D3181D-2A91-4B3C-8BB0-DCAAA4903FE5_1_105_c.jpeg)
Sicily II - Cefalù, Castelbueno, Racalmuto - April 2023
Leaving Palermo.
Can you find what’s missing?
Cefalù railway station & public parking.
Dominating the background is “La Rocca, locally called u castieddu (the castle), is a fortified cliff 268 meters high overlooking the beautiful town of Cefalù, rising on the Tyrrhenian coast, one of the most important reference points for navigation between Palermo and Messina.”
Francesca.
We learned so much from her on the drive from Palermo to Cefalù & on to Castelbueno. Fracncsca gave us some basics about Cefalù & set us off to meander & meet her later for lunch together at Il Carretto.
“Norman Duomo di Cefalù c.1131 by Roger II - Starting in 1985, the Palermo artist Michele Canzoneri was commissioned and has installed 72 modern, abstract, stained-glass windows based on episodes from the Old and New Testaments. This work aroused some controversy for its style.”
The Cathedral of Cefalù c, 1267.
“The cathedral was erected between 1131 and 1240 in the Norman architectural style, the island of Sicily having been conquered by the Normans in 1091. According to tradition, the building was erected after a vow made to the Holy Saviour by the King of Sicily, Roger II.”
Note that Roger’s tower is higher than the pope’s tower.
Behind & to the right of the Cathedral is “La Rocca, mentioned earlier.
.Porta Pescara XVI sec “This gate is the sole survivor of the four gates once spreading along the city's walls. It is named after the viceroy, who had the gate restored in 1570. It is located in the old part of the city, near the beach and the old harbour, where it frames the sea through its Gothic arch, which is surmounted by the Kings of Sicily's coat of arms. In the passageway one can notice a few portions of mullions and some reutilization blocks.”
Part of the ancient megalithic walls.
“Stretch of the old fortifications of the Greek polis of Kephaloidion.
Called megalithic walls, they are made of large stone blocks lumachella (limestone of the Rocca), set dry, thick an imposing three meters. Dating from between the fourth and fifth century. B.C.E.”
“The Rajmondi family has been working as a barber and hairdresser for several generations. Serge Rajmondi, son of Umberto Rajmondi is the progenitor of the fifth generation. Their story begins in the first half of the 1800s, when one of the ancestors opened the first barbershop in Cefalù in via Vittorio Emanuele 20, where the atelier is still located.
The tools of the trade are still found in the restaurant in Via Vittorio Emanuele, also for the ‘dentist’ activity. The hall was also a cultural and musical meeting point, where, during the searates, the players gathered to rehearse and arrange the musical pieces or any serenades to bring to the applicant's beloved or future bride.
Even today the Rajmondi family keeps the family musical tradition firm, organizing, when possible, barbershop music during the summer evenings, to cheer up a beard or hair cut, also cheering up tourists during a walk in the city.”
“On occasion tunnels suddenly emerge and cross ravines on spectacular bridges.
The c.1996 Malpertugio viaduct near the Castelbuono exit is one such. It is 120m (400feet) high and about 680 metres long.”
Look carefully & you’ll see the Malpertugio Viaduct on the A20. Above it, are two of the Aeolian Islands; I think Alicudi & Filicudi?
Annotated listing of food allergies at the end of the menu. We saw this in several other restaurants. This listing was amazingly detailed & in three languages.
Dinner at Abbazia Santa Anastasia.
Roads of Targa Florio rally - “The Targa Florio was a public road endurance automobile race held in the mountains of Sicily near the island's capital of Palermo. Founded in 1906, it was the oldest sports car racing event, part of the World Sportscar Championship between 1955 and 1973.” It’s from this race that the Porsche Targa got its name.
Roads of Targa Florio rally.
Note the Malpertugio Viaduct in the background.
One of the many tunnels on the A20 autostrada.
The tunnels & bridges are all named in case you get stuck in or on one of them & need to call for help.
Raculmuto was not on our initial itinerary. I had read about it in Midnnight In SIcily . It was a place of intense Mafia activity & the birth place of the famous Italian author, anti-Mafia writer & politician, Leonardo Sciascia. (‘He’s been referred to as the Conscience of Italy. Defiant by definition"‘).
On the map, Raculmuto appeared to be a good stopping point for a snack before we reached our destination in Agrigento.
Raculmuto
“Maurizio Di Gati (Italian pronunciation: [mauˈrittsjo di ˈɡaːti]; born July 10, 1966 in Racalmuto) is a Sicilian mafioso and considered to be the boss of the Agrigento province before his arrest in November 2006.”
Raculmuto -
“The name of Racalmuto derives from the Arab word “Rahal-Maut” which means “Dead village” because when Arabs conquered the area they found the village completely destroyed by plague.”
La Pasticceria & Gelateria G. Capitano. Raculmuto.
Raculmuto.
https://restaurantguru.com/La-Pasticceria-and-Gelateria-G-Capitano-Racalmuto-2