Sicily's Ancient Landscapes & Timeless Traditions Day 3

Day 3 - September 22, 2015 - Tuesday - Explore Province of Palermo; Monreale 12th Century Cathedral; Historic Quarter, Discussion of Sicilian Cosa Nostra

There were several people who were on late arriving flights last night so Maurizio scheduled our departure for 9:00 am. The sun was bright and it was already 75 degrees but there was a pleasant breeze off the Mediterranean Sea.

After our breakfast in the hotel, we met Laura, our city guide and Maurizio gave us the itinerary for the day. We boarded a small 20-passenger minibus with Mario as our driver. Laura explained that this small vehicle would be more convenient for getting around the city than the big bus we will have after leaving Palermo.

Laura began by telling us about the first inhabitants, the Phoenicians who built a harbor here in the 8th Century BCE, ("Before the Common Era"). We saw the gates of the old city built to protect the Palermo and learned about the occupation by the Greeks, Romans, and then the Arabs. Finally came the Normans under Roger II and then the unification of Italy in the 1860’s were the highlights she gave of the pre-modern history.

As we drove in and out of the narrow winding streets of the city, we could easily see the advantage of having a small vehicle. Laura pointed out the historical attractions, and we saw several of the remaining City Gates from the walled fortress.

There were not as many people on the streets today because the cruise ships come on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays. Today was a perfect day to walk the city streets. Mario let us out of the bus at the Four Corners or Quattro Canti, where we dodged buses, cars, and many motor scooters. This is the land of the Vespa!

We walked past the Piazza of Shame, named because of the nude figures carved for a palace in Florence and then moved here and placed in front of the City Hall and a Carmelite Convent.

There was time for a quick look at the City Hall. Not a regular tourist attraction, the policemen welcomed us warmly as they do not get very many visitors.

Our next stop was the Cathedral of Palermo, built in 1185. The highlights of the visit were seeing the chapel of Saint Rosalia, the patron of Palermo and the silver altar containing her remains.

Mario had the bus cooling when we left the cathedral and we proceeded directly to the mountain village of Monreale, and a visit to the Norman Cathedral of Monreale built by William II in 1174.

The Byzantine gold covered mosaics were amazing. Laura reminded us that the gold was real, there was no copper so the bright patterns of the biblical scenes are as colorful today as they were in William’s time.

At 12:30 we left Monreale and went back to the city of Palermo and to the Capo Street Market. We said goodbye and thanked Mario and Laura.

Maurizio had promised us “Street Food” for lunch as Palermo has the distinction of being #5 on the Forbes World's Top 10 Cities For Street Food. We started the quest for our favorite with Panelle that are little square fritters made with chickpea flour.

Our next sample was crocchè, which are potato croquets. Sfincione is a thick Sicilian pizza, topped with tomatoes, onions, and seasoned with a dash of oregano. And then we tried Meat Rice Balls (so called arancine) that were meat and veggies fried in a crispy rice ball center.

The last delicacy was pani ca meusa, a tiny sandwich with sesame seed bread and shaved beef spleen. Even though Maurizio had given us a strong directive “to try it – you will like it”, we did try it but this was our only non-favorite of the group.

All in all, Palermo Street Food is as good as it is cracked up to be; in spite of the pani ca meusa. We finished our lunch with prickly pear cactus fruit and yummy Sicilian sweet cannoli.

After lunch we walked to the Teatro Massimo, the largest Opera House in Italy and the third largest in Europe. Our guide for the day took us into the 19th Century elaborate building opened in 1897.

Known for the superb acoustics, no microphones are ever used in performances. Several members of our group purchased tickets for tomorrow night’s performance of La Boheme by Puccini.

After our tour of the Opera House, we walked back to the hotel to begin the journal and sort today’s pictures.

At 5:45 we went down to the lobby to meet our group. Our final traveler, Paul arrived from Milwaukee, after spending a day and night in Atlanta.

We walked to a near by hotel to listen to Gino and Angelo who talked to us about Corleone, Sicily. For Hollywood, this was the heartland of the Sicilian “Mafia”.

Both Gino and Angelo's fathers were involved in the Sicilian “Mafia”. They were very open about showing photos of their immediate families and sharing their roots in the Cosa Nostra.

On the way back to the hotel we stopped for dinner – gelato! After all of the fried delicacies we had for lunch, it was the perfect choice to end our day.

Accommodations: Hotel Plaza Opera - - - Meal: B, L