Hylonicum

Light and its residues, by Nicola Polloni

Sicily, in Fragments

Cefalù

Cefalù is a fragment of Sicily in which the town and its image are difficult to separate, shaped by the tension among everyday life, monumental presence and the continuous pressure of tourism.

Historic waterfront buildings line the shore beneath the hills surrounding Cefalù.
Rows of striped beach umbrellas fill the foreground, with Cefalù Cathedral rising above the town behind them.
A dense pattern of striped umbrellas and empty sun loungers covers the beach.
A group of young people plays on the sand beneath the houses of Cefalù’s historic waterfront.
A narrow passage runs between weathered walls, arches, pipes and external air-conditioning units.
Stone steps climb beneath an archway between walls lined with decorated plant containers.
A striped awning hangs above a narrow residential alley with balconies, plants and a ladder.
Laundry hangs across balconies above a narrow street of weathered houses.
A stone statue of a bearded saint holds a small model of a church before the cathedral wall.
An angled interior view shows the mosaic of Christ and the richly decorated apse of Cefalù Cathedral.
A crowded commercial street leads towards one of the towers of Cefalù Cathedral.
A scooter waits at the far end of a narrow lane enclosed by balconies, awnings and cables.
A large stone arch frames the harbour, crowds, boats and rows of beach umbrellas.
wo people sit on a stone seawall facing the water and Cefalù’s historic waterfront.
Crowds of swimmers and beachgoers fill the bay beneath the houses of Cefalù’s old town.

Places and dates
Cefalù, 2022 and 2026.