The Cefalù Cathedral was built by Roger II in 1131 as a dynastic mausoleum to house his mortal body. Architecturally, especially in its original design, it takes the form of a real fortress. Built in a strategic position, at the eastern end of the town, and under the fortress that dominates the surrounding area, the Cefalù Cathedral, with its façade enclosed between two towers (which also have slits), has thick walls and grandiose features, like a defensive fortress, symbolising and expressing the political centralisation of power.
