Adventures & Misadventures Abroad: November 4

We had to drive through Palermo on our way to Cefalu' and it was not fun. We had also been warned that we should not drive in Palermo. So Michael arranged for two guided days in Palermo. We parked on the outskirts of town, met our guide and then took public transit - bus and train - into the city.

We started off on the west side of Palermo at the city gate or Porta Nuova. Depicted on either side of the gate are two Norman men. Their crossed arms are showing that they were defeated and should be ashamed to show their faces here again.

On the other side of the gate is the Palazza dei Normanni which has always been the palace of the city's rulers. On one end is the Cappella Palatina (1130) which contains great mosaics. This church took very long, a ton of money, and several kings to finally get finished. Most everything is covered with gold leaf.

I always wandered why Jesus is depicted with his fingers in the strange formation as in the above. There are 2 fingers touching and three by themselves. It symbolizes that Jesus is both god and man - two fingers and the Holy Trinity of three.

The inner courtyard leading to the Cappella Palatina.

A typical Sicilian cart is on display on the ground floor.

I don't remember what kind of tree this is. The largest trunk on the right is a different kind of tree that is being smothered by it.

Next, on to the Cattedrale di Palermo

We had been looking for a bathroom and would have totally missed this one without our guide. The entrance is hidden behind a giant alter. Do you see Michael peeking around the corner?

Across the way is a high school. We got here just as they were finished for the day. Per our guide, this is the only high school in Sicily where Greek and Latin are taught.

We walked around to the back to see the remains of the Arab period, when the building was a mosque.

We spent a lot of time walking down Via Vittorio Emanuele. This is the inner courtyard of one of the renovated buildings. The outside of the building may look very plain, but inside can be so different.

Another Piazza that was rescued from its purpose as a parking lot for soldiers that used to be filled with cars and trash.

Who knows what is lurking behind the entrance between the two columns. It could be newly renovated and beautiful or a broken down mess waiting to be rescued.

Next stop was Quattro Canti - or the four corners. The concave corners each are very symbolic. These stand for the four parts that Palermo was divided into, each with a patron saint, famous king, etc.

Then on to Piazza Bellini where the most beautiful fountain - Fontana Pretoria - is located. According to our guide, most of the fountains in Palermo do not have water in them and there are signs saying they are repairing them - with no end date. I thought the two statues in the front were an old lady and old man. But apparently they are deities. Behind them are all the naked statues of beautiful young men and women.

On the same Piazza is the church - Santa Caterina d' Alessandria.

Inside Santa Caterina... everything is made with marble. There were some beautiful 3 dimensional pictures like the one above. Even the floors were made of marble.

Another church across the Piazza - La Martonana.

Street scene along our walk. According to our guide, a lot of what we saw along Via Vittorio Emanuele and Via Roma are new in the past decade. The city is really trying to attract more tourists. Sicily already has a huge trash problem. According to our guide the reason it can't be fixed as that the Mafia is heavily involved and won't cooperate with the officials.

Teatro Massimo was designed in 1864 even though Palermo already had a Teatro. Massive ancient buildings and neighborhoods were destroyed to make room for it.