The city I didn’t know I wanted to visit. Our guided tour yesterday took us to palaces, churches and the Cathedral at Monreale.  Don’t quiz me. All I know is that everyone has depicted the stories of the old and new testament in the Churches with great skill. Incredible mosaic and gilt work. About 200 palaces in the city are in various states of repair and disrepair –some turned into museums, others into apartment buildings. At street level there are shops and businesses but look up and it is clear that the large, 4 or 5 story building was once a palazzo. There was even a Jewish Quarter; the Jews were welcomed for their skills and smarts during the Inquisition –but there was still a price to pay (literally) to remain Jewish.

As the capital of Sicily the rulers of Palermo claimed a special place of influence and importance and many needed to erect buildings and create mosaics commemorating themselves.  What else is new?

We stopped in a library where volumes from the 14th and 15th centuries sat on shelves – they were filled with records of property transfers, births, deaths and the usual records of a city.  I was surprised we could just pull one off the shelf and open it although our guide said this was not recommende

The steep stairs leading to dwellings on upper floors of buildings led to “online shopping” claimed our guide – quite literally.  We witnessed this many times – residents lowered buckets on ropes to the street – goods they ordered were placed in the buckets which were then hauled up to the 2nd or 3rd or 4th floor balcony, retrieved by the buyer who then send down payment.  

A large outdoor fountain with Romanesque sculpture in the old city is notable for its nude religious figures –Ira noticed that the male statues were missing their penises although the rest of the anatomy was present.  “Taken by the nuns” snickered our guide.  Whether they were offended by the protuberances or put them to use is left to the imagination.  It poured on and off all day and we ventured out to dinner in the rain through dark deserted streets (more like alleys) to find the place we chose closed.  We landed at a wonderful spot close to the hotel with delicious roast octopus as an appetizer and lamb entries.  I am developing a taste for Compari spritz – a combination of Compari, Prosecco and seltzer.