Sunday, August 23, 2026
Palermo, Sicily
More Palermo Pass Times:
Today, we undertook some more serious sightseeing in Palermo. First of all, I have to say that both of us slept well. Our B&B was ideally located in a very central, very happening part of the city, but it was not noisy or crowded at all. Our ‘il Pachetto Charme e Design’ B and B owner, Sylvia, made herself known to us this morning after breakfast so that she could undertake all passport formalities, payment settlements, etc. Breakfast was a lovely affair with a basket with our names on it kept in the fridge for us. It contained individual bottles of orange juice, two tubs of yogurt, plus cheese slices and cold cuts and marmalade and jam and butter. Bread was available on the sideboard for toasting with a variety of jams and spreads. There was also a coffee machine and we were able to make ourselves cups of coffee with all the fixings. So, overall, we ate well and had a chance to communicate with other hotel guests who also came out for breakfast from their rooms.
Sunday Mass at the Church of Saint Joseph (San Guiseppe):
So, as it was a Sunday and I had found out yesterday that Sunday Mass would be said (in Italian, of course), at the Church of St. Joseph which was ideally located at Quattro Conti at 9.30 am, I told Llew that we should try to make it in time. Accordingly, we left out place at 9.15 and walked briskly through fairly empty streets (everyone was having their lazy Sunday lie-ins) to arrive at the church where there were about 20 (if that) elderly people waiting for Mass to begin. The priests here are always older than the hills as are the congregation. There is nobody under the age of 60 here in these churches. St. Joseph’s is a grand Baroque church and I had the opportunity to admire every nook and cranny of it at Mass and the exceptionally long sermon that went on and on. It was also dreadfully hot and humid and every single member of the congregation had a hand fan that they were desperately using. Yes, there were two pedestal fans, one on each side of the aisle and these were expected to keep folks comfortable! It was a laugh! Of course, these gorgeous old churches cannot install ceiling fans—that I do understand. But why on earth provision cannot be made for more pedestal fans to be installed is beyond my comprehension. Mass and Communion over, we hastily trooped out of the church.
At 10.30 am, crowds were just starting to appear at Quattro Conti which is the most popular congregating point for tourists in Palermo. The four different Baroque marble facades with fountains at their base offer endless photo ops—so it’s not surprising that everyone and his brother was posing here. This crossroads, by the way, of the Via Maqueda and the Via Vittorio Emmanuelle is called the Theater de Sol (Sun Theater) as a result of the play of the sun on the four different facades as the day progresses. The marble sculptures on the four sides are the work of Julio Lasso.
Visit to St. Catherine Of Alexandria’s Monastery and Bakery:
Since we were just next door to it, we decided it would be a good time to visit another big tourist interest here in Palermo: the Monastery of Saint Catherine which dates back centuries. It is no longer a running monastery, but it is still a working bakery (and a highly successful one at that) and a place of tourist interest for its magnificent church, its nunnery quarters and its baking facilities. The good nuns (like the good monks of yore) used their talents for commercial good—they had to stay alive, after all. And while the monks made the world’s most famous liqueurs (Drambuie, Amaretto Di Sarrono, Frangelico, etc.) in their monasteries all over Europe, the nuns turned their hands to confectionery and made the most sought-after pastries. Here, at St Catherine’s, the canoli are legendary—but they also make other pastries and cakes.
First all, we visited the church which is just gorgeous. After a point, I have to say that the interior of one church blends into the other…but this one was simply outstanding, The pietra dura work, in the Florentine tradition, was so thick and so colorful as to be visually arresting. There was also a variety of marble statuary featuring everything from statues of saints to animals such as regal lions. Lavish paintings on the ceiling, an extraordinary marble floor fully encrusted with marble inlay work, walls, pillars, columns, altar with a central crucifix surrounded by four pillars made of lapis lazuli and amethyst, were just simply stunning. There are simply no words…Each side chapel was more arresting than the other. Marble sculptures of God the Father in His glory were so spectacular as to make it impossible to leave the space. It was truly one of the best churches we saw on a trip in which every church simply blew us away.
Leaving the church, we were led to the Museum (as our entry ticket covered this treat as well). This a series of rooms that were only opened to the public recently as they were the private quarters of the cloistered nuns of the convent who spent their days and nights in prayer and labor (baking). Now that their former quarters are open to visitors, we were able to walk down their long and quiet corridors, all stark and unadorned but for the occasional crucifix on the wall or statue in a niche. We saw a number of beautiful jewel-encrusted monstrance and other sacred implements used on the altar. Eventually, we arrived at the most private part of the property—the individual cells or rooms in which the nuns had actually lived. Each nun had a single bed, a desk with two chairs, a small closet, a kneeler (for praying) and a washstand with ewer and basin. It was spartan and utilitarian and would have served the needs of each nun in a place in which one had given up all worldly wealth and vanity to live the monastic life. I love exploring these spaces because it helps me understand the kind of religious zeal and fervor of a past age that has all but vanished.
Visiting the Monastery Bakery:
The tour route did eventually reach the bakery. For those who had stronger limbs and were adept at climbing heights, there was a more expensive ticket to take you to the rooftops for apparently really grand views over the city. But I did not have the stomach for it and instead chose to wend our way down towards the bakery on the ground floor. This is a very popular part of the tour as almost everyone comes here hungry to sample some of the fine baked goods that were once baked by nuns but are now baked by lay women to the original recipes.
We had to stand in a line for a few minutes as only a handful of people are allowed inside at a time…but once in, we saw a number of women working hard at ovens and kitchen counters to turn out the delicious baked goodies. There were also glass cases full of cakes, cookies, pastries, etc,. and one could order those and take those home. But the most popular items were the giant canolis whose shells were visible. You could pick your filling (usually a sweet ricotta cream filling) and select your topping (chocolate chips, candied fruit, crushed pistachios, etc.) and then take your treat, pay for it and go outside with it. The most popular spot to enjoy it was the orange orchard right outside where there was a large crowd of people sitting in the shade offered occasionally by the low-growing orange trees that brought a delightful fragrance to the place. But, as we had just eaten really large breakfasts neither one of us felt hungry enough or tempted enough to try one of the pastries or canoli. So after taking a few pictures, we left.
By this time, the sun was hot. It was midday and we were both fatigued by the merciless sun. It has become our custom to return to our hotels for the afternoon to rest away the hottest part of the day. We did this while also picking up a few souvenirs from the stores (scarves, socks, magnets, etc). until we reached our ‘il Pachetto Hotel’ which was very conveniently located right off Via Maqueda. Our naps, in the cool air-conditioned interior of our room which was covered with walls sporting famous Italian recipes, was just delightful. We decided to set off again about 5.00 pm when the fury of the sun would have passed.
Evening Stroll through Parts of Palermo:
When we awoke, the first thing we did was return to the Theater Massimo, at the end of the street on which we were staying, as we had discovered, by this point that its steps are the venue for the last scenes in ‘The Godfather III’ trilogy of films which were shot by Francis Ford Coppola. Naturally, I felt we had to take a picture on these steps. So back we went to this venue. The evening crowds had not arrived yet although there were some visitors making the rounds. We climbed up the steps and I tried to get a glimpse through the glass doors…but there was really nothing of the foyer to be seen. Guided tours are given in this space throughout the day, that take visitors into the opera house. Had we more time, perhaps we might have taken this tour too. But, alas, we had to be content to see it from the outside. Yes, we posed for our pictures and when we were done, we walked along Via Maqueda and then, following our map, we reached the waterfront. We spent more than an hour making our way to the many watercraft scattered in the harbor and there were dozens of boats very neatly lined up in their slips. Posh hotels and upscale apartment buildings lined the waterfront. We sat there for a while to people-watch and take in the slanting rays of the setting sun gilding the seascape. It was a lovely place for pictures. Yes, Palermo is beautiful and has many different faces. In this spot, we were reminded of its sea-faring history and the numbers of invaders who have, through the centuries, docked here and made this island their home. This waterfront, by the way, is known as La Cala.
Off to the See the Centuries-Old Banyan Tree:
And then, we followed the map again to walk along Via Garibaldi to arrive as Guardini Garibaldi (Garibaldi Garden) in order to see the centuries-old banyan tree that has spread its massive root system (both embedded and hanging from the branches) most luxuriously across the park. We found it within a ten-minute leisurely stroll and posed under it for pictures. There were only about 4-5 people in the garden and they too were photographing the tree as, believe it or not, it is on the tourist track as one of the sights not to be missed!
Time for Dinner and some Cucina Siciliana (Pizza):
And eventually, when all this was done, with dusk well and truly upon us, we stopped at the many souvenir shops along Via Garibaldi to pick up gifts as there were shops galore, most run by Bangladeshis. We decided to use ‘Lonely Planet’ to find a pizza place as close to our hotel as possible (as last night we’d had pasta). It recommended a place called ‘Osteria Maqueda’ and that was where we made a beeline. I need to say that all restaurants lining Via Maqueda have touts standing outside trying to entice you into their place. Competition must be severe and now that it is almost September and the tourist season will end shortly, I suppose they must be as eager as possible to make as much money as possible.
We arrived at the place and were seated inside (as I still feel the great need for the AC as the nights are muggy too). We always start off with a bottle of sparkling water here in Italy and after looking at the drinks menu, I decided to have a Limoncello Spritz (which I did not like at all—it was too bitter for me) while Llew had a glass of the house red. There was a vast pizza list with at least 25 different types of pizza on it, most named for ladies! We chose a Pizza Emma—going strictly by the list of ingredients in it: prosciutto de Parma, thinly-slice potato (yes, a somewhat unusual ingredient on a pizza but actually quite common in Italy), mozzarella cheese. Our waiter had informed us, when we ordered it, that it involved a shot of brandy and that it would be flambed at our table! Wow! All the better, I thought. And so, there was a bit of drama at our table when the pizza arrived. It was flambed, table-side, with much fanfare, the flames leaping up in a golden glow as all other patrons turned their attention to our table. The folks next door even said, “Congratulations!” to us! Well, it was very good pizza and we enjoyed it immensely.
And with that, our day came to a wonderful end. Tomorrow, we will leave Palermo after breakfast and make our way to Agrigento. Palermo had been amazing—a totally wild ride through a capital city that had so much to offer—from the grandeur of royal palaces, the baroque splendour of astonishing churches, the austerity of nunneries and monasteries, the opulence of delicious luxurious pastries, an opera house that stopped one’s tracks, gourmet dining in Michelin-quality fine dining restaurants, etc. The quaintness of military and royal history plus the messiness of contemporary society with its illegal immigrants and stowaways co-exist in this ages-old environment and fills the visitor with such a sense of awe and wonder.
Until tomorrow, when new adventures await…ciao.
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