Palermo Day 1: Are we in Italy????

We woke up Thursday morning and had a busy day ahead of us. Considering that we only had one day to see everything we wanted to see we were going to be busy! The one thing that I was interested in seeing after doing my research but we had to eliminate was the catacombs. Maybe next time if we ever make it back to Palermo. On our list of things to do, was check out the markets; Lo Spasimo, the church without a roof; some really interesting trees; and Palermo's cathedral. Along the way we were also hoping to find some goodies to bring back with us!

Our first stop of the day was the Ballaro Market in Palermo's Albergheria district. Along the way, we passed the Quattro Canti, or the "Four Corners." It is located at the intersection of Via Vittorio Emanuele and Via Maqueda and is a quartet of baroque palaces left over from the heyday of Spanish rule. Each of the corners is decorated with a niche in three tiers. The first tier of each niche contains a fountain and a statue representing one of the four seasons. The second tier of each niche displays a statue of one of the Spanish viceroys. The third tier of each niche is dedicated to a statue of one of the patron saints of the city: Christina, Ninfa, Olivia, and Agata. If there was not so much traffic it might have possible to get a better picture!



The Ballaro market was not a disappointment. It was almost worth the trip to Palermo to get to walk through here, especially for Reed! This old market is where the Saracens did their shopping in the 11th century -- joined by the Normans in the 12th century. Talk about history. We asked a number of people, and this market is now considered one of the best in all of Palermo. We wandered for more than an hour easily, just amazed at the sights, finding some time to buy some pistachio pesto.










From the Ballaro market, we headed towards Lo Spasimo, cutting through the older parts of Palermo while commenting on how we seemed to be in a different country other than Italy!



Along the way, we found this great coffee shop and bought some of Palermo's finest coffee beans to bring back to the U.S.


They grind everything at the store.


These are the two types we purchased.



Lo Spasimo is located in a fairly derelict area of Palermo that had been heavily bombed during WWI. Construction began on the church in 1506 but was never completed. As time went on, the the church was used as a theatre, a lazaretto (quarantine station) after the plague epidemic in 1624, a wheat storehouse in the mid-17th century, a theatre again in the late 17th century, and a poorhouse in the 18th century. In the 19th century other premises were built for use as a hospital, which functioned until 1986, while the church continued to be used as a storehouse, especially for works of art. Today it hosts a wide variety of major cultural events, including concerts, plays and exhibitions.


Lo Spasimo is characterized by the fact that it does not have a roof, and large trees grow from the interior. I bet it is even more spectacular at night!


Check out the scale!



We stopped briefly for lunch and to grab some "supplies" for our ferry ride before heading off to the park to take some pictures of the special trees that grow there. I can't remember the name of the trees or the park but the trees are quite amazing!


The park is a really nice urban oasis, away from the smog and noise of Palermo.


Hi Reed!


The trees are really massive! It is hard to get a sense of the scale.



By this time, the heat and pollution were getting to us and we were quite tired. We had about an hour to spare before we planned on heading back to the hotel, collecting Ollie and our stuff, and leaving. We had one last stop in mind: the Cathedral.


Check out the haze!


One thing that clearly sets Palermo's duomo apart from all others is the Arab/Islamic style. Nothing like anything we had seen in all of Italy.


I thought the duomo was very reminiscent of the style of architecture you find in Barcelona.


The interior was quite ornate as well!


As we headed back to the hotel, we passed through one of Palermo's other markets, Vucceria. There is an interesting article on the decline of the Vucceria market in the New York Times that can be read here.


There were lots of interesting smells that actually smelled quite good. However after a day of seeing miscellaneous parts being thrown in pots and cooked to make sandwiches, I'm not sure I'm adventurous enough to try anything!


We made it back to the hotel without about 15 minutes to spare before the cab that we had prearranged would be arriving. Marjolein, the hotel owner was completely inappropriate when Reed told her we were leaving. One more reason not to return! As we stumbled out of the apartment, the nasty children above us screamed profanities at us. We could not wait to get out of there!

We made it to the dock with plenty of time to spare. The one last thing on our agenda was to figure out away to get Ollie into our cabin. Dogs are supposed to stay in the kennel on the top deck of the boat. It was filthy and disgusting. Luckily Reed is brave and we mapped out a route from the top deck to out cabin, three flights down and were successful and evading all ferry workers and getting Ollie into the cabin.


After spending the day in Palermo, we did both agree that the city is quite intriguing and it would be interesting to come back one day, making sure to safely leave Mr. O behind! We celebrated the end of the day with a glass of wine!