Cefalà Diana

In the hinterland of Bagheria, not far from Palermo, Cefalà Diana is an interesting stop with its Norman castle and medieval baths (26 km from Bagheria and 32 km from Palermo), also close to the Ficuzza Nature Reserve.
This area, served by secondary roads, has had a tradition of transhumance and cereal farming since antiquity and the Middle Ages.

Norman fortress and baths

Castle of Cefalà Diana

On the heights of the small town of Cefalà Diana, at the top of the Pizzo Chiarastello rock stand the vast remains of the Norman castle that dominate the middle valley of the Milicia.
This military fortress, whose preserved structures date from between the 12th and 14th centuries, with a large quadrangular keep, controlled the passage of a road connecting Palermo to the interior of Sicily, through the grain-growing lands of the Val di Mazara.
The fief of Cefalà is attested in medieval sources from the end of the 13th century, with Nicolò Abate who was its lord at the turn of the 14th century under the Aragonese. The barony then passed to the Chiaramonte family during the 14th century, a period during which the strategic and defensive role of the site was consolidated.

Arab-Norman baths of Cefalà-Diana

An ancient path connects the castle to the baths called Bagni di Cefalà located lower down to the north, 2 km on foot. It is a thermal complex with ogival vaults that would date back to the end of the Norman period, whose sulfurous waters linked to a still-active geological system maintain a temperature between 36° and 38°.
Its construction would date back to the end of the Norman period, the end of the 12th century, probably on previous Islamic thermal installations. Arabic inscriptions are engraved on the outer walls, including the classic “In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious and Most Merciful”.
In one of the two interior parts, the single original pool was replaced by three pools during a renovation in the modern era (probably between the 16th and 18th centuries), aimed at adapting the thermal use to a more collective attendance.
Near the baths, remains of conduits and medieval hydraulic works have been identified, suggesting that the preserved building was part of a larger thermal complex.

Where is Cefalà Diana: map

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Information

Sources and external sites

• Cefalà Diana: arabonormannaunesco.it, www.palermoviva.it, en.wikipedia.org
• Ficuzza Nature Reserve: www.sicile-sicilia.net

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