The Velvet Rocket staff are quite familiar with Italy and have seen most of it. And we (including our Italian correspondent) remain unanimous on one point: Sicily is our favorite part of Italy.

These scenes from the small Sicilian town of Cefalù, which can be found in the province of Palermo along the northern coast, should hopefully begin to demonstrate why:

Given its name, Cefalù obviously has a Greek connection in its origins, but the town has been occupied by countless other civilizations over the centuries ranging from the Romans to the Arabs (who made it part of the Emirate of Sicily) to the Normans among many others… Cefalù finally joined the Kingdom of Italy in 1861.

On the summit of the promontory overlooking Cefalù are the remains of several fortresses. With Sicily’s history of invasions, these were undoubtedly put to good use:

It’s hard not to like Sicily: