Sicily, Italy 5 - Palermo 2

Good morning, Palermo! Early morning was the best time to quietly admire the beauty of the Quattro Canti and the Cathedral. I appreciated far more architectural details than I did the day before, when it was crowded and noisy. 

We had a quick, light breakfast at an outside table of a cafe right in front of the Cathedral. We both had a fluffy Brioche col Tuppo and freshly squeezed orange juice in addition to cappuccino for J and camomile for me. The place was popular with local teenagers who were snacking on their way to school. 

We wandered around the city until the Palazzo dei Normanni was open. The city center was pedestrian-friendly, but the roads around it had heavy traffic, which reminded me that Palermo is the capital of Sicily. 

We walked past the Church of Saint John of the Hermits by chance, a 12th century Arab-Norman church, now deconsecrated, featuring notable five red domes. 

The city center - a mix of chaotic, grimy residential areas and the grand commercial streets typical of a tourist destination - was very flat and walkable.

We visited the Palazzo dei Normanni at 8:30 am, when it was open for the day. Originally a 9th-century Arab fortress, the Norman Palace was converted into a royal residence starting in 1072 by the Normans, recognized as Europe's oldest royal residence. As soon as we entered the palace, we found the Maqueda Courtyard (Cortile Maqueda), the main, central courtyard in the Renaissance style, built around 1600.

Unfortunately, the Royal Apartments were closed at that time, but an exhibition, Tesori Impressionisti: Monet e la Normandia" (Impressionist Treasures: Monet and Normandy) was held within the Sale del Duca di Montalto (Duke of Montalto Rooms), located on the ground floor of the Royal Palace. The collection features total 97 works by 45 different artists who were inspired by the landscapes of Normandy, including Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Berthe Morisot. As I like impressionism art very much, especially Monet's paintings, the exhibition was a big bonus for me! 

Unexpectedly, the ancient foundations and archaeological findings of the palace were hidden in the basement beneath the late 19th-century Impressionism exhibition.

Next we moved to the upstairs to visit probably the most famous spot in the palace - the Palatine Chapel.

Built in the 12th century, the Palatine Chapel is an imposing cross-cultural artistic fusion. It blends a traditional Western Latin cross basilican layout, glittering Byzantine mosaics, and wooden, honeycomb-like (Muqarnas) Arab ceiling, serving as a testament to the cultural diversity and creative dialogue in Norman Sicily. Although the right aisle and the throne platform were closed for renovation, the nave, the left aisle, and the sanctuary were enough to overwhelm me with their stunning architectural elements. 

The garden of the palace was small and just ok, but it provided us a bench to sit down and think about where to go next.

We stepped out the city center and visited the Capuchin Catacombs of Palermo. It's an underground cemetery excavated beneath the monastery of the Capuchin Friars, housing approximately 2,000 skeletons and mummified bodies, making the Catacombs of Palermo the largest and most extraordinary collection of mummies in the world. In the late 16th century, the Capuchin Friars settled in Palermo, and built a new underground cemetery in 1599 after their original common grave became full. During the transfer of remains, they discovered 45 bodies had naturally mummified (due to the dry environment), which they interpreted as a divine sign. Instead of reburying them, the Friars began displaying the preserved bodies in wall niches. The cemetery was originally only for the Friars, but they gradually decided to grant burial to all those who can afford the effective natural mummification process that the Capuchin Friars perfected over time. From the 17th to the 19th century, thousands of people, especially Sicilian notables and renowned figures, decided to entrust the bodies of their deceased to the Friars. According to the cemetery, in addition to the desire to preserve the body even after death, there was also the possibility for the families of the deceased could not only mourn the grave of their loved one but also to see him, to speak to him, to 'visit him' as if he were still part of the world of the living. The cemetery was unlike any place I have ever been. It was worth a visit and made me think a lot. Photography is strictly prohibited within the catacombs to protect the mummies' preservation and respect the site's sanctity and the dignity of the deceased. 

We headed back toward the city center, passing through Mercato del Capo again. We got complimentary arrancini from a man at the market who tried to persuade us to have a full meal there. However, he failed because we had a restaurant reservation.

We walked by Piazza Ruggero Settimo, a public square with the Teatro Politeama Garibaldi. The late 19th century, neoclassical theater is the home of the Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana, a prestigious Italian symphony orchestra, founded in 1951. 

We arrived at Corona, a family-run, traditional Sicilian trattoria that J booked a table. It was time for lunch! 

The interior was bright, clean, and modern but warm. I felt it cozy.

Hello, rolls!

Our appetizers were Caponata Siciliana, a classic Sicilian sweet and sour eggplant dish, and Trittico (sardines fish ball, black arancina, salted cod in tempura). All of them were wonderful! I would love to have the recipe of Caponata.

For Primo (pasta), I went with the Bucatini con sarde (sardines). Originated in the 9th century during the Arab conquest, Pasta con sarde is another Sicilian traditional dish, made with an aromatic sauce (sardines, anchovies, onions, fennel, raisins, pine nuts, saffron), topped with toasted bread crumbs. Having prepared a version of this dish many times myself, I was excited to finally experience the real thing in Sicily! While I typically use spaghetti at home, the trattoria's chewy bucatini were excellent. The sauce was actually similar to my own, just a bit sweeter because of the raisins I usually leave out (instead, I throw in some capers.) for J's taste. I thoroughly enjoyed the dish and feel even more confident in my own recipe now.

J opted for Spaghetti alle vongole (clams), and I am very sure he liked it very much. Fresh clams are a staple of Sicilian coastal cuisine, making Palermo an ideal place to enjoy the classic dish in Italy.

Since we were having such a great experience, we stayed longer and ordered desserts. Mine was Branco mangiare, a traditional, creamy spoon dessert deeply rooted in Sicilian, Italian, and European culinary history. Dating back to the Middle Ages, the white (branco or bianco), delicate pudding is traditionally made with fresh almond milk, thicken with cornstarch (or sometimes rice flour), flavored with lemon peel (zest) and vanilla, and often topped with a sprinkling of cinnamon and/or crushed toasted nuts, particularly pistachios or almonds. I think the trattoria version was very much traditional, and it was lovely.

J's was Semifreddo alle mandorle con colata di cioccolato. Even though I loved my choice, I couldn't help but think I should have gotten J's.

After the fantastic lunch (thank you J!!), we wandered around the city, window-shopping sometimes.

I didn't forget that we had already had desserts, but I just craved for 'afternoon gelato' since it was a warm sunny day. We stepped by Dolce capo, a small gelateria, located on a quiet alley. 

I had lemon mint and mango - super fresh, intense flavors! In short, heavenly! J also got lemon mint and I think his other flavor was coconut. I wish I had had a chance to return there to try all the flavors.

The last but not least event of the day was to join a guided tour of the Teatro Massimo di Palermo. The largest opera house in Italy (the third largest in Europe) has an impressive façade, designed in the neoclassical style, inspired by ancient Greek-Roman temples.

The tour started with the Foyer and a story about the building. 

- The Sala Grande: a classic, horseshoe-shaped opera auditorium, featuring five tiers of boxes and a gallery, accommodating over 1,300 people.

- The Royal Box: a luxurious, centrally located viewing area on the second tier, designed for royalty and featuring opulent mahogany wood, red brocade sofas, and a Murano glass chandelier. It includes the "Salone del Sovrano" (Sovereign's Hall), a private lounge.

- The Pompeian Rooms (Sala Pompeiana): Known for its unique acoustics, also called the "echo room," decorated in a classical Roman style.

I was curious about dozens of genome-like statues in the opera house's gardens. Later I learned that it was part of Extinction, a multimedia art project by Italian artist Max Papeschi. The project uses satire and grotesque imagery to critique the current path of human civilization, highlighting themes of war, cultural decay, and environmental destruction. It is based on a provocative hypothesis: in the near future, the human species will be extinct and an extraterrestrial civilization will be attempting to reconstruct history through distorted digital fragments. The 'Zwergen Dämmerung (Twilight of the Dwarves)' were 47 monumental statues combining the bodies of Xi'an's famous terracotta warriors with the heads of garden gnomes. Max Papeschi describes his terracotta army as a transmission from a parallel reality - an alien reconstruction of humanity's perpetual state of war. It is a visual oxymoron: the silly, innocent, little garden gnome trapped in the lethal form of a warrior. I had thought they were simply cute at first, but now I knew the background, which has changed my view somewhat.  

To be continued...