Our last stop of this trip before heading back to Tripoli was Palermo, the capital of Sicily. We only spent about 24 hours in the city (and another 8 in the airport, but that’s another story!!) but had a fantastic time. 
Being in the Mafia heartland, we were disappointed not to see any gangsters, drive by shootings or other evidence of corruption but did notice numerous posters advertising meetings and activities encouraging people to participate in anti-Mafia action. It was a very cool city and we enjoyed wandering around, drinking espressos and taking it all in. Some of the highlights included:
Piazza Pretoria which contains a sixteenth century Florentine design fountain with lots of statues. We visited during the day and came back later at night as it is lit up and looks amazing!
Gold shoes – Sicilians seem to love a bit of bling, including jazzing up their shoes. How can you go wrong with gold running shoes!!
Santa Caterina Church – a Baroque church in which there is literally not one square inch of the interior that is not covered in decoration, carving or colour. It is truly a sensory overload. After seeing so many churches when we were in Spain a few years ago, I thought I had seen most things, but was completely unprepared for this one.
Across the plaza is San Cataldo Church – the antithesis of Santa Caterina – built in the 12th Century and rather plain compared to the exuberance of the Baroque church (church on the right with 'golf ball' roof').
Gelato – The Sicilians know how to make good gelato (and the Maltese for that matter), and we enjoyed quite a few icecream stops!
On our last morning in Sicily we went to the Capuchin Catacombes. The Catacombes originiated in the sixteenth century as they needed a burial place for monks. From 1599 until about 1881, preserved bodies of have been placed in here – some in coffins, some lying on shelves, some wired up to recesses in the wall so they appear to be standing up, all clothed in attire appropriate to the time and station in life, men, women and children. Up to 8000 bodies have been placed in here, although there was extensive damage in WW2 which has destroyed some of them. Words can not describe what it is like to walk through these corridors of the dead. It is eerie and overpowering – it doesn’t smell as such, and there are windows through which you can see daylight. However, it is the most bizarre experience. Photos weren’t allowed but if you go to http://images.google.com.au/ and type in 'Capuchin Catacombes' you can see a number of images.
Being in the Mafia heartland, we were disappointed not to see any gangsters, drive by shootings or other evidence of corruption but did notice numerous posters advertising meetings and activities encouraging people to participate in anti-Mafia action. It was a very cool city and we enjoyed wandering around, drinking espressos and taking it all in. Some of the highlights included:
Piazza Pretoria which contains a sixteenth century Florentine design fountain with lots of statues. We visited during the day and came back later at night as it is lit up and looks amazing!
Gold shoes – Sicilians seem to love a bit of bling, including jazzing up their shoes. How can you go wrong with gold running shoes!!
Santa Caterina Church – a Baroque church in which there is literally not one square inch of the interior that is not covered in decoration, carving or colour. It is truly a sensory overload. After seeing so many churches when we were in Spain a few years ago, I thought I had seen most things, but was completely unprepared for this one.
Across the plaza is San Cataldo Church – the antithesis of Santa Caterina – built in the 12th Century and rather plain compared to the exuberance of the Baroque church (church on the right with 'golf ball' roof').
Gelato – The Sicilians know how to make good gelato (and the Maltese for that matter), and we enjoyed quite a few icecream stops!
On our last morning in Sicily we went to the Capuchin Catacombes. The Catacombes originiated in the sixteenth century as they needed a burial place for monks. From 1599 until about 1881, preserved bodies of have been placed in here – some in coffins, some lying on shelves, some wired up to recesses in the wall so they appear to be standing up, all clothed in attire appropriate to the time and station in life, men, women and children. Up to 8000 bodies have been placed in here, although there was extensive damage in WW2 which has destroyed some of them. Words can not describe what it is like to walk through these corridors of the dead. It is eerie and overpowering – it doesn’t smell as such, and there are windows through which you can see daylight. However, it is the most bizarre experience. Photos weren’t allowed but if you go to http://images.google.com.au/ and type in 'Capuchin Catacombes' you can see a number of images.
Afterwards, the Desert Rat and I had to sit outside a while and take a little break and try and process what we had just seen. We felt quite somber as you can imagine and it wasn’t until a man in a little 3 wheel truck began waving to us when Johnny was taking a photo that our mood lightened up. The man pulled up and urged us to look at the back of the little truck, on which there was a tray laden with fresh fish. We took photos (see below), and then he got back in the truck and drove off, waving all the way. It really summed up the friendliness of the Sicilians we had met and really makes us want to explore Sicily and the rest of Italy further.
So, this is the last posting from our April/May travels. Here are just a few more shots of Palermo:
Until next time,
Sahara Gal
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