After a few relaxing days we took the bus to our last destination which is Palmero, the capital city of Sicily. The bus took us north and the ride was about three hours. It took us through some wonderful scenery which showed us just how fertile this island is.
Lots of fields being planted and plowed…
Hilltop towns…
Lots of crops still in the fields, couldn’t figure out what they were but later in the markets they turned out to be broccoli.
Palmero is an old city founded in 734BC by the Phoenicians and has been inhabited by many others over the years. It has been shaped by the Romans, the Byzantines, the Arabs, the Normans and the Spanish. You can see a lot of different influences in the fabulous architecture wherever you look.
We stayed in the central part of the city known as the Historical Center so it was easy to walk everywhere. Our apartment was in an alleyway just off the Main Street, Via Roma.
Ours was the yellow door and had a nice view from the back balcony…
One thing we immediately noticed was the traffic which was crazy, most times there are no traffic lights so you step out in the sidewalk and hope for the best!
Here is a picture of Via Roma without too much traffic…
However the real Palmero is found in the alleyways which are so interesting and dirty…
Seems every second person drives a scooter and they are parked everywhere…
Parking is tight and we were amazed as we watched this guy park in this very tight spot!
After a few turns and he was in!
There are lots of beautiful buildings in Palmero with one of the most popular being the Cathedral which is another UNESCO World Heritage site. It was founded in 1185 over the site of a former mosque and an earlier Christian basilica. It is quite large but inside it is not overly ornate…
And it seems to have many styles of architecture.
Inside it is mostly gray and white and gives a peaceful feeling when you are there…
Lots of domes and painted ceilings.
Since there are many churches to visit in Palmero and we can only handle so many the only other one we visited was the Church of the Gesui which is widely considered to be the premier masterpiece of Sicilian Baroque architecture in Palmero. It was founded by the Jesuits in 1564 and completed in the 1630s. Just as the Cathedral was somewhat plain this place was covered in intricate marble sculptures in flowers, birds and cherubs. We have seen a lot of churches in our travels but this one was quite the spectacle!
And beautiful painted ceilings…
The horse drawn carriages are available for a tour around the city…
There are many squares in Palmero but this one is a “ circular square” called Quattro Canti. It has four corner buildings featuring concave Baroque facades that give it a round visual effect. Because of its careful alignment one of the four corners is always bathed in sunlight…
As you can see there are many tourists everywhere in Palmero and we were surprised given it was off season. However people tell us there is no off season here as the weather is always warm and people always come. In addition it is also a cruise port so large groups with audio phones everywhere as well.
We always try to find local places to eat and drink and we found this very popular “ hole in the wall” bar and spent a couple of nights there. The owner and the locals were quite friendly and we enjoyed watching their interactions.
Also near our place was an alleyway full of restaurants which we also visited more than once…
The food was great as well…
Pistachios are grown here and are used in many ways such as this very tasty pasta. It is not an egg but burrata cheese.
One of the local fish here that is also quite popular is swordfish, tastes a bit like tuna…
Italians have so much good food and we got to taste some at the local markets which are very loud and lively.
One of the vegetables I have eaten a lot here is eggplant which I have never bought at home but here it is so tasty and sold everywhere. Here are some examples at the market…
And lots of fresh octopus
And then there is all flavours of cannoli
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There doesn’t seem to be many dull moments on the streets of Palermo but there is another side to the city as well…
We visited the “ Wall of Legality” it is a 70 metre long commemorative street artists mural dedicated to justice, civic duty and the fight against the mafia. It features realistic portraits and famous quotes from magistrates, police officers, journalists and writers who stood against mafia violence.
Overall we enjoyed our last stop in Sicily and would certainly recommend a trip here. It has been a great month of travel despite being sick for part of it. We visited five different countries, saw so much beauty, met wonderful people and leave with great memories. Until next time…
