Palermo Diaries #2

Hello dear travel lovers. For those looking for clean and peaceful corners in Palermo, I recommend its coast. There is a large area for playing sports here. People ride bicycles, go for a run, cats go for a walk. All of these undoubtedly add a special atmosphere to the city. There is a small bay with yachts, which is also a very pleasant place.

However the area that literally impressed me was the gardens near Palazzo Reale. It feels as if al the city's landscaping resources were poured into this park. Because everything here is flawless. Signage, maps, directions showing free restrooms. A spotlessly clean environment, everywhere is well maintained, lawns are mowed. I had not seen anything like this in Palermo yet. There are probably other such areas, but it gives a completely surprising feeling as if I have dropped into a totally different city. I could imagine such a thing in a botanical garden in Austria or Germany. But seeing it in Palermo is very surprising for now. And of course, it must be admitted, it makes one very, very happy. It is really incredibly beautiful. Most importantly, if only you could feel how wonderfully this place smells. I really liked it very much. The size of the rubber trees astounds a person.

There is also an ornithology park here in addition to fountains, well maintained green paths and a plant collection worthy of a botanical garden. Rare parrot species, storks, flamingos, pink pelicans and some endangered bird species are present. I do not know about you, but I have never seen such parrots anywhere before. First of all how beautiful they are, how big they are. And how they move on this cage wire. They hold on with their beaks and then move along the cage with their feet. So honestly, it is really very interesting.

We have come to the most enjoyable part of my trip. We had to explore Sicilian cuisine. For this I chose a special restaurant in the center of Palermo, recommended to me by my Italian friends living here, the local people. I ordered the most classic dish Caponatina di melanzane, meaning eggplant caponata. It is generaly considered a classic. Honestly, eggplant is used a lot in Sicilian cuisine, as far as I felt, almost as much as seafood. This dish here was not hot, it was a cold appetizer. Probably a starter plate. It had eggplant, olives, onions inside. Of course, there was olive oil as well.

I generally love eggplant and olives, meaning all the ingredients in this dish, very much. But this was really unbelievably delicious. Truthfully I never expected it could be this delicious. It had a surprisingly intense flavor. I strongly recommend everyone to try Caponatina di melanzane or simply Caponata. There might be different variations of it in Palermo by the way, but it is made a bit uniquely.

The second dish was Pasta alla Norma. The recipe is considered to have been invented in the city of Catania. Of course, it has now become a traditional dish for all of Sicily. This pasta is made in every city. It is very simple. There is basil, tomato, cheese, that is all. Ah of course, eggplant. Could it be without them? That is almost impossible in Sicily. When we translate its name which is quite easy to do, we get normal pasta Pasta alla Norma. It probably got this name just because it is a very normal, simple pasta and made from ingredients always found in Sicilian cuisine. However, there is also a more interesting, sublime explanation regarding this name. According to the story, one day the Italian writer Nino Martoglio tasted this pasta and shouted, This is a true Norma. By saying Norma, he meant that magnificent opera work by Vincenzo Bellini, wanting to explain that it was an extraordinary, sublime thing. Well people who love this pasta explain this name at least in this way nowadays.

To be honest it is nothing extraordinary. It is exactly how you picture a perfect pasta in your mind with these ingredients. Delicious but not such an extreme, unbelievably special thing. For example I would recommend Caponata more. This is also worth trying, but I think ordering something with seafood would be better. Still you are in Sicily. it is important to order something with mussels, shrimp, squid and definitely octopus.

Of course, the most popular dessert of Sicily is Cannoli. A creamy tube dessert. Ricotta cheese whipped with sugar and a bit of lemon. Nowadays perhaps the most popular variety is the one with pistachio, pistachio cream. I definitely recommend you try it. There are large sizes as well, but I bought the small one so it would not be too high in calories. My advice to you is to also buy the small one first and try different varieties.

There is also another very popular dessert in Sicily. The combination of Brioche bread and ice cream. Its name is directly Brioche con gelato. It is said that the local people usually have breakfast like this in the summer heat. Allegedly, it is a dish tailored for hot weather. I do not know what dietitians would say about this or rather I do kno a terrible thing. But still, this interesting ice cream bun combination is worth our try. You can taste this at almost every ice cream parlor. Get it, try it. You know anyway there is no problem regarding desserts in Sicily. There are very, very many varieties here. In short, try it.

It is time to meet Piazza Pretoria and the fountain bearing the same name, which is both the greatest pride and the greatest shame of Palermo. As you can understand, the story of this place is quite amusing. You see, the fountain was actually made by the Florentine sculptor Francesco Camilliani for the garden of a Spanish aristocrat in Florence. However in the year fifteen seventy-four, it was purchased by the Palermo Senate, divided into six hundred and forty four pieces, transported and set up in its current location. Since there was no mafia back then, all the pieces were delivered completely.

However, another problem arose. At that time, Palermo had much more conservative views compared to the capital of the Renaissance. In Florence everyone was already accustomed to daring paintings and nude statues. In Sicily however, most people could not understand this. Conservative city residents and clergy reacted roughly like this when they saw nudity displayed so openly. Many of them seriously demanded that the fountain be dismantled or at least the statues be clothed.

According to legend the unofficial name of the work also emerged at that time. The congregation going to church for worship would turn their heads away in shame as they passed by the statues. That is why this Florentine work began to be referred to as the Fountain of Shame.

For me, this is one of the most beautiful fountains I have seen. An incredibly complex and very impressive work. Unfortunately because it was fenced off for security reasons, I could not get right up to it and climb up its stairs. And it is very symbolic that it is located just two steps away from a square that must be looked at precisely from the bottom up. Moreover not because there is a very high structure, monument or building above it.

We moved away from the fountain, walked only twenty meters and came out to Quattro Canti Square. The corners of the four buildings here are cut in such a way that the square has acquired an octagonal shape. If you stand right in its center, you feel as if you are under a massive sky dome. This situation resembles the Pantheon effect in Rome, which has a massive hole in its ceiling.

All four corner facades belong to the Sicilian baroque style of the early seventeenth century. The lower floor of the facades is decorated with fountains in the form of an allegory of one of the four seasons. While in the niches on the middle and upper floors, statues of Spanish kings and saints who receive special reverence in Palermo are placed.

What is wonderful and completely unexpected for me is this. The main streets of the city intersecting in this square are pedestrianized. Italy had not prepared me for this. Generally the central parts of cities in Italy are pedestrian zones. Not because pedestrians, tourists or the environment are thought of, but because there is physically no space for modern cars. Only those living there can enter such areas by vehicle. Here, however, we see wide, spacious streets. People ride bicycles, scooters and most importantly, enjoy walking.

There is also this. I remember reading a lot before visiting Palermo about how the capital of Sicily is a noisy city. Scooters, cars, music, markets, celebrations. All of these were said to create a crazy city noise. Honestly, I did not feel this at all. Yes, in terms of quietness, it is certainly not a Scandinavia. But to those who have been to Naples, the noise of Palermo will sound like birds chirping.

What Palermo never ceases to amaze with is the density of beautiful buildings in the city center. You can watch these facades forever. For example there is a magnificent inner courtyard located on Vittorio Emanuele Street, very close to the castle. If we walk along the second pedestrian street from Quattro Canti Square, we see the city's main theater, Teatro Massimo.

The theater was originally designed with a capacity of three thousand spectators, which made it one of the largest theaters in Europe. Yes, nowadays too, walking completely around it takes several minutes. To me, it is one of the most photogenic structures in Palermo. But as you can guess, fun facts are not lacking here either.

First the final scenes of the movie The Godfather Part Three were shot right within the walls of Teatro Massimo. Second one of the halls of the theater is called the UN Hall. Because in the year two thousand, a conference on organized crime was held here. The security of the conference was provided by the local mafia. Okay, this is a joke of course, but seriously, no step is taken without the mafia here. At least in the twentieth century. In the seventies, the theater was closed for restoration. Do you know how many years the renovation work lasted? Twentythree years, even exactly twenty-five years. As a reminder, this duration is longer than the time it took to build the building from scratch.

What is beyond doubt is the fantastic acoustics of the hall. Even a whisper on stage can be heard from the back rows.

To complete the picture, really beautiful buildings need to be added to this walk. For example, the city's second important theater, Teatro Politeama Garibaldi. Built slightly before Teatro Massimo, it was originally designed for both circus and horse shows as well as opera performances. Nowadays at the theater orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana, one of Italy's most prestigious symphony ensembles, takes the stage. Even though Garibaldi Theater is located a bit away from the center, I think you will find yourself in this square. Because the bus that will take us to Palermo's most beautiful observation deck departs from right here.

Bus number eight hundred and twelve will pass through the city and then begins to climb the winding roads towards Monte Pellegrino. Here there are many observation decks, a huge park and even a castle with a crazy view dominating the entire city against the backdrop of the Tyrrhenian Sea. There is also good news for hiking lovers. You can take buses numbered eight hundred and twelve or eight hundred and six to the foot of Monte Pellegrino and then climb up on your own via well maintained, beautiful paths.

Really if the city center in Palermo is a one to one replica of Seville, the sea and those green hills in the background obviously resemble Malaga. How wonderful that all of these unite in a single city in Palermo.

I was very lucky with the weather in Palermo. Two perfectly sunny days. But towards the end, I stil managed to get caught in the rain. While at the top, a heavy downpour started and literally the same returning bus saved me. The nice part is, I traveled with the same ticket. Because the ticket is valid for ninety minutes. So know that, if you just want to go up and come right back down, you do not need to buy another ticket. You scan the ticket when you get on the bus and it remains valid for ninety minutes. Another great thing is that you can buy the ticket from the driver. In Italy, this is not an obvious thing at all. Because usualy you have to buy the ticket from a tobacconist, meaning newsstands or some souvenir shops. So it is a complete adventure. Here, however, everything is fine. You can buy it from the driver, but only with cash. Not with a card.

My biggest impression of Palermo was that I had completely underestimated this city. You too, when you think of the most beautiful cities in Italy, probably think of Rome, Venice, Florence, Naples.There are probably other cities too, but you do not put Palermo in this list, right? Only those in the know, those who have been here say, Listen, Palermo definitely must be seen as well. I now agree with these people, because I think seeing Palermo is very important.

That is all for today. See you on the next trip.