Posted by Arthi on Wednesday, June 1, 2016 in Blog posts.

I interviewed Alessandra, who works at Culturforum as the secretary. She was born and raised in Cefalu to an Sicilian father and English mother. She has lived in Sardinia, Florence, Tusany, Palermo, and Trapani, before finally returning to Cefalu this past April.

A common theme throughout our conversation was the tourism industry in Cefalu and greater Sicily. Alessandra has completed a degree in tourism and therefore worked in hotels, restaurants, and bars before coming to Culturforum. We talked both about what makes Cefalu special, and yet how it has not reached its potential.

We discussed the immense beauty of Cefalu – the seaside town has charm leaking out of every cobblestone. The seaside makes itself known everywhere. People in Cefalu call themselves “gente di mare” – people of the sea. What comes with a small town like this is a community feel. Alesssandra talked about how people are friendly, and help each other. There is no traffic, no atmosphere of stress that we feel in bigger cities, especially in the States. Alessandra mentioned that she strives to stay in the mindset of a tourist – as if seeing Cefalu for the first time, to make sure she appreciates it all, rather than get used or accustomed to the beauty. She spoke about how tourists and foreigners are made to feel a part of the place. People who visit feel they fit in, and I definitely feel that way. Alessandra herself is a product of this inclusivity – she told me the story of how her mother visited Cefalu twice on holiday in a group of six women from England, who loved it so much they all ended up moving here permanently.

Alessandra talked about how even though Cefalu has this beauty, it’s not maintained well. The charming cobblestone streets are at times hidden by garbage, or disturbed by potholes. Buildings are not painted, and roads unclean. These are small things that can be changed easily, but without them Cefalu does not have that polished veneer that tourist towns generally show. When I mention this polish, I do not mean to say Cefalu should modernize, for I believe its “old world” or untouched charm is what makes it beautiful. Alessandra thinks there is a general sentiment in Cefalu that the natural beauty of the sea and landscape is enough to make the city attractive, and that the city does not need to do anything additional to supplement it. But this is what sets Cefalu and Sicily apart from other more successful areas – the lack of organization and initiative.

Alessandra and I spoke about Cefalu’s governing bodies’ lack of attention paid to making the town an attractive place to live or visit. She mentioned the bureaucracy putting in place many walls, rules, and red tape, making it hard for people with fun ideas to them. The important thing to note is that all these ideas are within the framework of helping people appreciate the natural beauty of Cefalu, not to clash or distract from it. Alessandra gave many examples of things that could be hosted, like music festivals, food festivals, dancing on the beach, bonfires, etc, that could bring people together, and encourage conversation, entertainment, food, and drinking. Cefalu could offer so much, but there doesn’t seem to be any structure in place to facilitate this kind of programming. This conversation was particularly interesting to me because during my time in VU student organizations, I really enjoyed putting together and hosting events.

During our time in Sicily, we’ve heard multiple times of this phenomenon of the ambitious young people leaving. They go abroad and work, and then return and retire in Cefalu, engendering and continuing this happily content atmosphere – an atmosphere that leads to Cefalu’s relaxing and peaceful feel, but can be a double-edged sword when it also facilitates a lack of initiative within its people. I hope to gain a better understanding of this phenomenon during my time here.