Cefalu

Cefalu (case version)

Location: Italy (Sicily north coast, 68km east of Palermo)

Village type: tents then huts.
Year of opening CM: 1957
Year of closing: 2005.

A little history: For those interested in the history of Club Méditerrané, studying this village is particularly fascinating.

Just like Caprera, Cefalu before being Mediterranean will be Magical.

In 1951, the Magic Village association found a site in Sicily to open its second village.

The location that is found is on a rocky cape located west of the bay of Cefalu, a town in Sicily with its traditional fishing port (wooden boats and rowboats) and a pretty cathedral.

The place is occupied by a property on which there is a 17th century building (Palazzo), a small chapel and some other ruins like the remains of an old 16th century tower.
It also offers a real terrace on the whole bay of Cefalu dominated by the Rocca, name given to the rock which overlooks the historic heart of the city, and closes the bay on the east side.

The village opened on June 13, 1951.

When Club Méditerranée took over the Magic Villages in 1956, Cefalù became part of the Trident. (Same for Caprera)

The village opened in its new colors on June 1, 1957. The Trigano tents of the Magical Villages gave way to the Polynesian huts of the Club.

The GM can practice water skiing, spearfishing, bivouac in the Aeolian Islands, sailing arrived in 1959, judo in 1964 and then tennis. The village has two annex villages: Lipari and Salina. A complete program of excursions is also available. Sicily is full of ancient and Byzantine splendors to discover.

In 1964, the village became a test village for what would later be called the forums. These forums, one or two per week, were times for exchanges and dialogue between specialists (economics, astronomy, physics, cinema, writers), and the GMs. They would disappear in the mid-1980s.

During its existence, the village burned down several times. The fires were often started by firefighters, not by accident. After each fire, the village was rebuilt. 

When it was last opened in 1991 (after a fire), the huts were equipped with lighting! A first for hut villages.  

The journey

The first departure in the Club's colors took place from Gare de Lyon in Paris on the morning of June 1, ¹⁹⁵⁷ by special train. Stop in Naples on Sunday and boarding in the evening on a boat to Palermo.
The same year, the possibility of seaplane travel (Paris Marseille by train) was offered. Air connections were opened in 1959. GMs were able to choose their transfer or to mix their mode of transport (example: Outward train + boat, return by plane).

The fact that the village is also bordered by the Palarme – Messina railway line offers the advantage of stopping GM trains at the small halt built in 1961 at the entrance to the village at the same time as the level crossing. This avoids bus transfers from Palermo to the village. 

Village Chiefs

Jean Balandjian opened the village in 1957, and Tony Hatot replaced him the following year.
Mehdi Kamali closed the village at the end of summer 2005.

Did you know?

In 1953, the village was transformed into a film set during the shooting of a Franco-Italian film, The Magic Village, or Vacanze d'amore for the Italian version.

The film is directed by Jean-Paul Le Chanois, assisted by a certain Pierre Granier-Deferre.
A young actor with a very promising future plays the leading role. His name: Robert Lamoureux.
The feature film was released in theaters in 1955 but did not make its mark on the history of the 7th art.
Having seen it, it truly shows the life of the first villages. The journey, the stopover in Rome, the welcome upon arrival, life in the village... It's all there, even a love story!

A second film was shot in the village in 1970. It was "The Explosion," a vague crime comedy written by Alphonse Boudard, with Mylène Demongeot and Fréderic de Pasquale in the lead roles. Pierre Tornade and Paul Préboist were also part of the cast. The film was released in 1971. It was not the cinematic masterpiece of the year either!. Let's move on!!

And today.

After many years of uncertainty, start dates for work announced and then cancelled, negotiations and discussions between various local stakeholders concerning the site, nature also intervened in 2016 with a forest fire that reached the village, the fire in the Pallazzo, the work to transform the village finally began at the beginning of 2017.

The construction work will last approximately 18 months. The new Club Med Cefalù will open for the 2018 summer season.

The village of huts is over; today, the site is occupied by a "Resort" with 5 Trident Exclusive Collection comfort.
The small Santa Lucia chapel is still there, Phew!

The first village chief in this new story is Barq Guessoum