03/11/2025
Hello from Palermo Sicily!
We have now all arrived in Palermo last night and enjoyed a wonderful dinner in a local family restaurant. The family are typically on holidays this time of year and usually they are closed, however they are friends of our local guide and were happy to open just for our group serving up a wonderful welcome Sicilian meal. A great way to end a long day!
Today we ventured out with our local guide for a walking tour and experienced some of what Palermo has to offer. Our first stop was to the Pretoria fountain, built in 1554 by Francesco Camilliani, in Florence. Initially placed in the garden of the Florentine palace of the brother of the Grand Duchess Eleonora of Toledo. In 1581 it was sold to the Palermo senate and transferred to Piazza Pretoria in Palermo. Giorgio Vasari defined it as "a stupendous fountain that has no equal in Florence or perhaps in Italy".
It is popularly known as the fountain of shame because of the exorbitant sums paid to buy it, the constant increase in costs and the constant increase in the infinite additional expenses, and the figures considered " shameful " by the people of Palermo. The fountain no longer has any water flowing from it in efforts for conserving water.
A few steps further down the road we came to the Quattro Canti -meaning four corners. It is located at the intersection of the two streets, Corso Vittorio Emanuele and Via Maqueda. It is one of the outstanding works of baroque architecture in Palermo. It is officially called Piazza Vigliena after the Spanish viceroy Juan Fernandez Pacheco de Villena, who had the architectural ensemble built.
The square was created when the city expanded eastwards in the 17th century. The Cassaro (now Corso Vittorio Emanuele), which had been Palermo's main street since the time of Arab rule in the 9th century and which leads from the Norman Palace, was extended eastwards to the sea and widened overall. In 1608 the Spanish Viceroy Maqueda had another large street built at right angles to it, the Via Nuova (now Via Maqueda). The two streets divide the old town into the districts of Albergheria, Seralcadio (also called Capo), Loggia and Kalsa.
The intersection of the two streets was expanded into an octagonal square with curved facades, which was called Piazza Vigliena. The expansion of the square lasted from 1608 to 1620. The Florentine architect Giulio Lasso built a palace at each of the four corners of the intersection. On each corner façade you can see the season, ruler, the patron saint and the coat of arms.
The square is also called Teatro del Sole because sunlight falls on one of the corner facades all day long.
Next, we visited the Teatro Massimo Vittorio Emanuele, better known as the Teatro Massimo of Palermo, it is the largest opera house in Italy and the third largest in architectural size in Europe, after the Opéra National de Paris and the Vienna State Opera. Of neoclassical - eclectic taste, it stands on the remaining areas of the church of the Stimmate and the monastery of San Giuliano, which were demolished at the end of the nineteenth century to make room for the grandiose construction. The works began in 1875, after troubled events that followed the 1864 competition won by the architect Giovan Battista Filippo Basile, upon whose death his son Ernesto Basile took over, also an architect, who agreed to complete his father's work in progress at the request of the Municipality of Palermo, also completing the drawings necessary for the continuation of the works on the Theatre.
In the Rotunda of the South or Pompeian Hall, the room originally reserved for men only, one can observe a very particular resonance effect, purposely obtained by the architect through a slight asymmetry of the room, such that whoever is in the exact center of the room has the perception of hearing his own voice amplified beyond measure, while in the rest of the room the resonance is enormous and such that it is impossible to understand from outside the rotunda what is being said inside it.
In 1990 the theatre was the setting for some of the filming of Francis Ford Coppola 's The Godfather: Part III.
A visit to Palermo is not complete without a visit to the Capo Market Palermo (Mercato del Capo) a historic outdoor. It is situated in Seralcadio, a historic neighbourhood dating back to the Muslim era. The market stretches along several historic streets: Via Carini, Via Beati Paoli, Via di S. Agostino, and Via Cappuccinelle.
The market has historically been famous for its meat trade. This heritage dates to when the “bocceria nuova” (new slaughterhouse) operated nearby, specializing in goat and other animal slaughter. The area still features numerous “carnezzerie” – a dialect term from the Spanish era – rather than standard butcher shops.
In recent years, Mercato del Capo has undergone somewhat of a transformation. While it once served primarily as a local fresh food market, many traditional stalls selling fruit, vegetables, and fresh fish have given way to more tourist-oriented offerings. The market has evolved to cater to visitors, with vendors now focusing on street food and souvenirs. While traditional Sicilian products like spices, dried tomatoes, and pasta are still available, they’re increasingly presented in vacuum-sealed packaging designed for tourist convenience, rather than in the traditional bulk format that once served local shoppers.
The market is a great place to sample some of the famous street food of the city like “Sfincione” and “sfincionello” – a focaccia-like bread with tomato sauce and other toppings, bread with spleen, bread with panelle (chickpea fritters) and potato croquettes. We enjoyed some of these offerings for lunch.
Next our local guide suggested we try a famous digestive known as Autista. It was developed by one of the bartenders at the Pinguino who, to give relief to a taxi driver who couldn't digest, mixed orange syrup, lemon syrup, soda water and a pinch of bicarbonate. From that day on, the drink became a driver for everyone.
The characteristic of this drink is that after pouring the soda water and a pinch of bicarbonate you must be quick, very quick in downing it, the immediate digestive effect is guaranteed. It was a fun experience for everyone!
Then we visited the Royal Palace of Palermo, also known as the Norman Palace. The Norman Palace with the Palatine Chapel is inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List min 2015. The Norman Palace, also known as Palazzo Reale and Palazzo dei Normanni dates to the early days of Palermo, and over the centuries, it has mirrored the city's fortunes, evolving under the rule of emirs, dukes, princes, kings, and viceroys who added to its structure as they pleased. Towers, treasuries, courtyards, chapels, and ballrooms were incorporated into its design at various times, reflecting the whims of its successive rulers.
Recent research indicates that the palace was built upon and expanded from a Phoenician fortress. The Phoenicians founded the city as a trading colony. Since its inception, it has served as the seat of power for the rulers of Sicily, hosting the courts of Roger II and Frederick II, whose influence extended across Europe and the Mediterranean. The Spanish added the main façade to the palace. Since 1947, it has housed the Regional Assembly.
The Palatine Chapel, a masterpiece of Arab-Norman art is the royal chapel of the Norman kings of Kingdom of Sicily situated on the second floor at the center of the Norman Palace in Palermo. The chapel is a great symbol of multi-cultural cooperation. Craftsmen of three different religious traditions worked alongside each other. The texts in the chapel are written in Greek, Arabic and Latin.
Ca****la Palatina was initiated by Roger II in 1130 and consecrated a decade later. Renowned for its breathtaking mosaics, the chapel's interior was meticulously designed by Roger II to exalt his monarchy, with particular emphasis on themes related to the Holy Spirit and the theology of light. The central apse features Christ Pantocrator, bearing the message "Ego eimai to phos tou kosmou; Ego Sum Lux Mundi" (I am the light of the world) in Greek and Latin. Notably absent are depictions of the martyrdom and suffering of saints Peter and Paul or the Passion and Crucifixion of Christ; instead, their stories culminate in triumph. The chapel's earliest and most exquisite mosaics, believed to be the work of Byzantine Greeks, adorn its eastern section, enhanced using both gold and silver tesserae.
Our last adventure of the day, a visit to Palazzo Butera, it was owned by the descendants of the Branciforte family, princes of Butera until the end of 2015. In 2016 the palace was purchased by Massimo and Francesca Valsecchi. The new owners financed a complete restoration of the palace, both structural and artistic, with the intention of opening the monumental asset to public use. The restoration work began in January 2016 based on a project by the architect Giovanni Cappelletti who also supervised the museographic layout of the collections. Since spring 2021, Palazzo Butera has reopened its doors to the public with the first complete layout of the collection of Francesca and Massimo Valsecchi. All the rooms of the palace, restored and transformed into exhibition spaces, host works from the collection. Along the exhibition route you will encounter contemporary works of art, ancient paintings, monochrome porcelain, iridescent glass, furniture and English objects from the era of the Industrial Revolution.
We had a fabulous day exploring Palermo…stay tuned for our next adventure!
Our Journeys by Maple Leaf Tour’s team brings 20 plus years of experience in developing and hosting unique small group tours for women.
