A Month in Bella Italia

[Flutterby]

The next day we went to Palermo which is the capital of Sicily and is located in the northwest of the island right by the Gulf of Palermo in the Tyrrhenian Sea.

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The city was founded in 734 BC by the Phoenicians as Ziz ('flower'). Palermo then became a possession of Carthage, before becoming part of the Roman Republic, the Roman Empire and eventually part of the Byzantine Empire, for over a thousand years. The Greeks named the city Panormus meaning 'complete port'. From 831 to 1072 the city was under Arab rule during the Emirate of Sicily when the city first became a capital. The Arabs shifted the Greek name into Bal'harm, the root for Palermo's present-day name. Following the Norman reconquest, Palermo became the capital of a new kingdom (from 1130 to 1816), the Kingdom of Sicily and the capital of the Holy Roman Empire under Emperor Frederick II and King Conrad IV. Palermo's metropolitan area is the fifth most populated in Italy with around 1.2 million people.

The Teatro Politeama Garibaldi is home to the Sicilian Symphonic Orchestra.

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The Church of the Immaculate Conception is a Baroque church located inside the market of the Capo. It was built between 1604 and 1740 and is finely decorated with many works of Sicilian artists.

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You cannot visit Palermo without visiting the Vucciria Market, where you can find anything from fish to curios.

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Fresh octopus at one of the many food stalls!

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There are so many narrow roads to explore which are all beautifully maintained by the residents.

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The Teatro Massimo Vittorio Emanuele is an opera house and opera company located on the Piazza Verdi in Palermo. It is the biggest opera house in Italy, and one of the largest in Europe (the third after the Opéra National de Paris and the K. K. Hof-Opernhaus in Vienna), renowned for its perfect acoustics.

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Quattro Canti, officially known as Piazza Vigliena, is a Baroque square in Palermo, Sicily, Southern Italy. It was laid out between 1608-1620 at the crossing of the two principal streets in Palermo, the Via Maqueda and the Corso Vittorio Emanuele.

The piazza is octagonal, four sides being the streets; the remaining four sides are Baroque buildings, the near-identical facades of which contain fountains with statues of the four seasons, the four Spanish kings of Sicily, and of the patronesses of Palermo, (Christina, Ninfa, Olivia and Agata). The facades are curved, and rise to four floors; the fountains rise to the height of the second floor, the third and fourth floors contain the statues in niches. At the time the piazza was built, it was one of the first major examples of town planning in Europe.

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[Mel]

Palermo looks beautiful, particularly in the side streets

But that octopus… Not my taste

[Lisbeth]

Sicily has one of the most mixed up histories in Europe, if not thee most coloured one. Placed in the middle of the crossroads of the Mediterranean it has been occupied by everybody starting with the Phoenicians/Carthaginians (11th century BC–210 BC), ending with the Austrian Hapsburgs and the French Bourbons before becoming part of the united Italy in 1860.

The narrow alley looks very charming. Has Palermo been a bit refurbished or only the tourist places?

The inside of the Baroque church looks rather pretty; nice marble details

[Richprins]

Looks a bit like a spaza shop, that market...wonder if it is regulated?

And no octopus, thanks...unless it is calamari!

What fascinating history, Flutts! Who would have thunk the mafia built such a big opera house?

[Pumbaa]

Palermo is looking beautiful, Flutterby,

and the markets there are always interesting but I am also not a fan of octopus at least not for food

[Flutterby]

Palermo looks beautiful, particularly in the side streets

But that octopus… Not my taste

It is beautiful, it's just a pity we did not have more time to explore. I've had octopus in salad quite often but wouldn't eat it whole like that!

Sicily has one of the most mixed up histories in Europe, if not thee most coloured one. Placed in the middle of the crossroads of the Mediterranean it has been occupied by everybody starting with the Phoenicians/Carthaginians (11th century BC–210 BC), ending with the Austrian Hapsburgs and the French Bourbons before becoming part of the united Italy in 1860.

The narrow alley looks very charming. Has Palermo been a bit refurbished or only the tourist places?

The inside of the Baroque church looks rather pretty; nice marble details

Palermo has been chosen as the Italian Capital of Culture 2018, so I'm not sure if it was cleaned up for that or if it is always like that.

Looks a bit like a spaza shop, that market...wonder if it is regulated?

And no octopus, thanks...unless it is calamari!

What fascinating history, Flutts! Who would have thunk the mafia built such a big opera house?

That market is apparently one of the oldest in Europe. Palermo is actually a very cultural city...full or art and music.

Palermo is looking beautiful, Flutterby,

and the markets there are always interesting but I am also not a fan of octopus at least not for food

It would have been nice to spend more time there.

[Lisbeth]

It has been cleaned up then

[Flutterby]

Originally we were meant to stay in Palermo for a couple of days with SO's cousins, but they decided otherwise so unfortunately we only had the one day there. The Brat is actually going to Palermo today with the other cousins...lucky boy!

Piazza Pretoria, also known as Piazza della Vergogna (square of Shame), is just a few meters from the Quattro Canti, the exact center of the historic city of Palermo. The large central fountain is the focal point for sixteen nude statues of nymphs, humans, mermaids and satyrs. Since 1860, the fountain was considered the representation of corrupt municipalities, and Palermo nicknamed the square with the nudity of the statues, the Square of Shame.

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The Church of San Cataldo is a Catholic church located at Piazza Bellini in central Palermo. Erected in 1154, it is a notable example of the Arab-Norman architecture which flourished in Sicily under Norman rule on the island. In 2015, it received status as a World Heritage site.

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Palermo Cathedral (The Metropolitan Cathedral of the Assumption of Virgin Mary) is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Palermo. As an architectural complex, it is characterized by the presence of different styles, due to a long history of additions, alterations and restorations, the last of which occurred in the 18th century. The church was erected in 1185 by Walter Ophamil (or Walter of the Mill), the Anglo-Norman archbishop of Palermo.

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The main façade is on the Western side, on the current Via Bonello, and is connected with arcades to the Archbishops' Palace.

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The interior is quite simple, not as grand as I expected.

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Outside the Cathedral stands a statue by Vincenzo Muratore called Creation (To My Father). Apparently all BIAS (International Biennale of Sacred Art) artists covet this spot outside the Catherdral.

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San Giuseppe dei Teatini is a church located near the Quattro Canti which is considered one of the most outstanding examples of the Sicilian Baroque in Palermo. The church was built at the beginning of the 17th century by Giacomo Besio, a Genoese member of the Theatines order. Its most striking feature is the large dome with a blue and yellow majolica covering. The inner decoration is an overwhelming parade of Baroque art, with stuccoes and great frescoes in the nave and in the vault of the transept. The frescoes were severely damaged during World War II, but have been accurately restored.

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The oldest specimens of Banyan Figs (Ficus macrophylla) in Italy are found in Palermo. The biggest one is in Piazza Marina, Garibaldi Gardens, planted in the year 1863, with 10000 cubic meters of vegetal matter, a height of 25m and a trunk girth of 40m!

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[Lisbeth]

The cathedral is impressive...from the outside. The architecture looks a lot like the cathedrals in Southern Spain. In any case I do not like the inside of most catholic church; they are too full of "things"

Nice story linked to Piazza della Vergogna

Is the statue by Vincenzo Muratore dedicated to his father or is Father here intended as God

I have seen a tree like that in Madeira or was it the Azores

[Richprins]

"Piazza Pretoria". Yay...what rugby team do they support, I wonder?

Those old Eyeties would have a fit if they saw some of the Municipal Corruption we have here!

I think the banyan trees are from India...