CEFALÙ

Cefalù is a picturesque historic town 75 km from Palermo, on the northern coast of Sicily. It is truly one of the Mediterranean's undiscovered jewels. Cefalù has a sandy beach, winding medieval streets and delightful restaurants overlooking the rocky coast, all under the everpresent gaze of the town’s Duomo - the imposing two-towered Norman cathedral, one of the greatest churches of southern Europe. The catehdral’s interior is decorated with gleaming mosaics created by twelth-century Byzantine artists: a large Christ Pantocrator on a gold background dominating the apse, above the Madonna, Archangels and Apostles.

Towering above the Duomo and the town center is the massive crag called the Rocca. On the top stand the evocative ruins of the so-called Temple of Diana, an ancient megalithic stone structure, which was given a modernisation in the in 5th century BC in the classical Greek style. The view from the summit of the Rocca is breathtaking and inspiring.

Back in town the visitors can admire the picturesque harbour, alleys and medieval buildings. A Saracen wash-house, the Lavatoio, is another sight worth seeing, as is the medieval Osterio Magno, the remaining part of a large 13th century palace. Cefalù without doubt has grandeur in the past and holds the reminders of Sicily's varied influences, not just Norman and Byzantine, but also Arab, Spanish and finally Italian.

HOW TO GET THERE

The low-cost flights from Rome Fiumicino, London, Marseille, Dusseldorf (and other European destinations) to Palermo are available by Ryanair.

To reach Cefalù:

• Take a bus from the company "Prestia and Comandè", which departs every 30 minutes from the airport to the central train station in Palermo. The bus usually takes about an hour from the airport to the train station depending on traffic.

• Take a train from Palermo Centrale station to Cefalù. Trains depart every hour.

• SAIS Trasporti also runs bus service between Palermo and Cefalù three times a day in each direction, but not on Sundays.
  Palermo-Cefalù: 13.00, 14.30, 18.30
  Cefalù-Palermo: 6.35, 7.45, 15.00

Frequent trains run to and from Palermo, Milazzo and Messina. From Messina, many continue on to Naples and Rome.

MIFP BUS SERVICE

Transportation costs, especially with private vehicles, could be high. The taxi from Palermo to Cefalu "may" cost up to € 200,00 each ride.
To overcome this, MIFP is organizing at a reasonable cost (about 25 euro max. rate per person), a transport with a private bus line that will move from the airport of Palermo-Punta Raisi, considering the two main arrival times of Ryanair airline flights from Fiumicino at 13.00 and 20.05 of September 15, 2015.

Participants who wish to take advantage of this service must notify by May 30, the secretary of the Conference (Ms. Anna Miroshnichenko - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

We need to know how many participants are interested in, to:

• Choose the right type of bus
• Make lists of names to be delivered to the bus driver

the cost of the bus is not included in the costs of the conference. The payment for the ride will be payed on arrival at the hotel to our staff. The bus service will be activated only with a minimum number of 10 users and the price will be lower with more customers.

The same service could be arranged for the return back from Palermo to Fiumicino in the two main departure times of Ryanair airline flights at 09.55 and 17.00 of September 23, 2015.

We will propose you round trip bus during the conference.