Coffee and photography together in Palermo

Caffé Stagnitta is one of the oldest cafés in Palermo, in 2022 it celebrated a century of life. Although it was originally located in Piazza Venezia, it has been in its current location in Discesa dei Giudici, in the heart of the historic center, since 1931.

In addition to Coffee house, it is also a store and roastery, so they also roast and sell their own coffee blends. In fact, it is precisely a coffee blend to give it its name. "Ideal", was their first blend and Stagnitta the surname of the family that created it and has been running the roastery for four generations.

But the fact that they roast and sell coffee is not the most particular thing about this historic place. If you sit on the open-air terrace you might not understand why it is surrounded by black and white photographs.

Portraits of intellectuals such as Pier Paolo Pasolini, the writer Leonardo Sciascia and the painter Renatto Guttuso, both Sicilians, but also anonymous characters, such as the penetrating gaze of a Palermitan girl with her soccer ball or a bent old woman strolling with an ice cream.

What relationship can be between photography and coffee? The one that was between two people: Ignazio Stagnitta, son of the founder, and Letizia Battaglia, one of Italy's most important photographers. Although they divorced in the 1970s, their relationship is the reason why this café is also a place of Palermo's cultural memory.

Battaglia, who passed away last year, documented the most terrible years of mafia violence, the so-called "years of lead." Today, a memorial plaque commemorates her, her work and her love for Palermo.

Sferracavallo: nature, sea and sunsets

Sferracavallo is a small seaside neighborhood just over fifteen minutes from Palermo by car. But if you don't have one, don't worry, because you can also reach it by train.

Historically a fishermen's neighborhood, it is still today. You can see fishermen with their cane and also with their boat. In the small harbor you can see the boats moored, which go out to fish depending on the prey, at dawn or dusk. Also, you can find the shipyards repairing the boats and those that cannot be repaired are "parked" in the streets.

Many Palermitans come to spend Sunday in Sferracavallo, especially to eat fresh fish and seafood, as well as the famous homemade ice cream of La Delizia.

And, of course, they also come to take a dip in the sea. Less crowded and less prestigious than Mondello, Sferracavallo is a great choice for a swim, just with less comfort than in Mondello. Because except for the small beach of Barcarello, the accesses to the sea are rocky. So we advise you to bring appropriate slippers.

If Mondello excels in comfort, Sferracavallo clearly wins in landscape. From Punta Barcarello you can access the natural reserve of Capo Gallo, an astonishing natural area dominated by Monte Gallo and through which you can go trekking and make beautiful nature walks.

But it is surely the sunsets that make Sferracavallo more frequented. Watching the sun set into the sea with the Isola delle Femmine in the background is one of the most evocative images of this seaside township, so you are likely to find both professional and amateur photographers immortalizing the sunset, as well as couples enjoying the moment very romantically.

Celebrate Santa Rosalia Eating Babbaluci!

This year marks the 399th Festino of Santa Rosalia, the patron saint of Palermo, or in Sicilian u fistinu, to remember the moment when the Saint saved the city from the plague.

Much loved by the Palermitans, who affectionately call her the Santuzza, the city is full of votive altars dedicated to her and even some graffiti or other street art display that modernizes her image.

However Rosalia was not always the patron saint of Palermo, in fact it was this miracle that made her the sole and absolute patron saint, ousting all the others. Yes, “others” in plural. Because, strangely enough, Palermo used to have no more and no less than four saints, Agata, Cristina, Ninfa and Oliva, who can still be seen today in the four niches of the Quattro Canti.

The city celebrates its patron saint on the night of July 14th with an all-out celebration, which makes us wonder why they call it "Festino", which in Italian means “small feast”. Perhaps it is an affectionate name because the feast is by no means small!

The carriage that carries the Saint crosses the city from the Cathedral to the sea, making nine stops enlivened with music or small theatrical performances and ending in big fireworks until late into the night.

Throughout the day, in addition to the Santa, the other main protagonist is of course the food. Along with the traditional street food such as sfincione or pane con la milza, which can be found regularly, or calia e simenza, a preparation of chickpeas and pumpkin seeds, traditional of all Sicilian festivities, the most special food of the Festino is undoubtedly the babbaluci.

The babbaluci are snails cooked and seasoned with garlic, parsley, oil, salt and pepper. Palermitans love them and in the few remaining stores that make them there are long lines to buy them. Of course, there are other Palermitans who loathe them and others who challenge you to eat them only with the skill of your mouth and without using a toothpick... Do you want to try?

How to “preserve” your Sicilian trip - Paper Artists in Palermo

If one day you have the opportunity to do your shopping in any Palermo’s market, you will notice that in the paper in which they wrap your meat or vegetables, you almost always will find a nice detail: a drawing, a phrase, a thank you...

 
 
 
 

But inevitably after emptying the purchase, you throw it away. Instead, Carmela and Giulia thought they could give a much longer and creative second life to these wrappers that tell a part of the history of Palermo’s historic markets. And so, they created Edizione Precarie and decided to turn the paper used to wrap and protect food into notebooks and letter paper kits that can also preserve many other things, as your dreams, projects or your most unspeakable secrets.

A unique way of writing and “preserve” your travel in notebooks that hide between their pages so many stories, waiting to receive yours. Just as you don’t always find strawberries or pumpkins in the market, because each one has its own season, each notebook style is unique and diverse not only in size, but also in colors and even textures!

You can find notebooks in different styles, more fishy ones, carnivorous and sweeter ones, and even a collection of small notebooks with Sicilian riddles.

The space of Edizione Precarie hosts also works by other artists and designers and is additionally a place where from time to time there are workshops in graphic printing, hand stamping, embroidery ....

An artisanal project of design and graphics that was born ten years ago and that, like the markets themselves, is always in transformation.

As of the writing of this article, they are located at:

EDIZIONI PRECARIE
Via Alessandro Paternostro, 75 Palermo

You can also follow them on Instagram @edizioniprecarie

Mondello: beach, Art Nouveu architecture and some unsolved mysteries

Few cities are as fortunate as Palermo to have a sea like that of Mondello at such a short distance.

Every Palermitan has a little bit of Mondello in their childhood memories, and they will spend hours and hours comparing the water of Mondello to that of the Maldives, talking about its turquoise blue reflections and its fine white sand.

With this image anyone could think that a little more than a hundred years ago the Gulf of Mondello was home to a large mephitic swamp, until 1891 when the recovery began and also its territorial and urban transformation.

From a swampy terrain Mondello became the preferred summer resort of the elite, which can be seen in the architecture of the town in some art nouveau villas, but above all in the iconic Bathing Establishment of 1910.

Located on a vast platform on pylons submerged in water, the Charleston, as the Palermitans call it because of the restaurant that was inside, transports you to a world of elegance and relaxation.

But there is a much more unknown villa, which not only stands out for its architecture, but for a much more mysterious history.

It is Villa Caboto, a house that has been uninhabited for years and is known as the haunted villa, due to some strange occurrences inside: lights that turn on and off by themselves, open faucets, sound of footsteps...

If you don’t have much time to hunt ghosts, besides bathing, you can go windsurfing and of course try the local specialties based on fish, good pizzas and finish the day with a good ice cream.

The Infatuation - The Best Restaurants & Bars In Palermo

Our friend Linda Sarris published and top 20 list of restaurants in Palermo on the iconic The Infatuation, here’s the full list of The Best Restaurants & Bars In Palermo as of summer 2023.

  1. Enoteca Picone

  2. Corona Trattoria

  3. Bocum Fuoco

  4. Trattoria Piccolo Napoli

  5. Le Angeliche

  6. Fúnnaco

  7. Osteria Mercede

  8. Ozio Gastronomico

  9. Moltivolti

  10. Gagini

  11. MEC Restaurant

  12. Casa Stagnitta

  13. I Segreti Del Chiostro

  14. Pasticceria Cappello

  15. Cappadonia Gelati

  16. Botanico Bar

  17. Dal Barone

  18. Mak Mixology

  19. Seven Rooftop Cocktail Bar

  20. Nautoscopio Nauto

Rediscovering the sea of Palermo

Greeks called Palermo, Panormos, “all port” and if you want to discover firsthand why, the best way to do it is to walk along its promenade by the sea.

We stroll from one point to the other of the city, from the port of La Cala to the small port of Sant Erasmo, to enjoy as a vero palermitano a space that is being recovered for the city and the enjoyment of locals an foreigners.

La Cala

La Cala is the old port of Palermo, it has the shape of a “U” and it is nowadays a classic tourist harbor with fishing and sailing boats.

Walking along the pedestrian area you can admire the big mural that remembers Falcone and Borsellino and practically always you will find the sailors repairing their boats or ready to sail, fish vendors or other Palermitans trying to fish, to whom you can quietly watch if they have caught something sitting without any responsibility in one of the nearby bars.

Foro Italico

This part of the promenade is one of the most frequented by Palermitans for jogging or cycling, and when the sun goes down, you can find any kind of sport, from yoga to African dance and even cricket matches if you’re lucky!

If you are a calmer type, you also have your place. In the gardens next to the promenade, you can have an improvised picnic or take a nap under the palm trees. If the day is particularly windy, don’t miss the opportunity to fly kites.

If at any moment you are hungry or thirsty, a few meters away the drinks cart (try a refreshing orzata!) and the paninaro, the sandwich vendor, awaits you.

Sant’Erasmo

The days when Palermo turned its back on the sea seem to have come to an end with the rehabilitation of this part of the city.

The small Port of Sant’Erasmo has come back to life a couple of years ago. To celebrate it maybe the best thing to do is to toast with a good Sicilian wine in one of the nice restaurants around while enjoying the view of the sea; that sea that Palermitans could not enjoy for so many years.

The Strange History of the "Bad" Palermitan Women

Corso Vittorio Emanuele is the long avenue that divides Palermo in two and ends at a large stone gate, Porta Felice. Crossing it you will find the Foro Italico with its sea views.

But if instead of crossing it you look at the stairs right next to Porta Felice you can climb them, go through an iron gate and walk along what were originally the city walls.

You will be walking on the Mure delle Cattive. If you know any Italian, you'll know that “cattive” is the feminine plural of "cattiva" which means bad. So yes, you are on the "wall of bad women".

Don't think this is a typo, the sign hanging over the gate you've walked through says it quite clearly. So, if it's not a mistake, you're probably now wondering who these women are and what might have done to have earned that label.

Thieves, murderers, swindlers?

None of the above.

These women were just prisoners. Not of their family, not of a king, not of a jailer. They were prisoners of their pain, that is, they were widows.

Everything is due to a misunderstanding between the word captiva (captive, prisoner) and the word cattiva (bad).

In 1823 this promenade with a paved terrace was built on the walls to be able to take a walk overlooking the sea to enjoy a cooler breeze. This would have allowed those widows, who according to tradition should be dressed in black and mourning their loss to infinity, to walk more discreetly.

Another version of the story tells that what they really did was to let themselves be seen to show that they were available…

Today, after some years closed, you will not see widows walking around, but at least you can sit in the only bar to have a snack in the shade of the trees.

The historical market of Palermo that is also a work of art

In Palermo there are three historical markets, the Capo, Ballarò and the Vucciria, but only one of the three, besides being a market, is also a work of art.

The Vucciria is a painting by Renato Guttuso, and if you look closely, you will see it hanging in many stores in the city, as a poster, of course. The original is in the Palazzo Steri, former seat of the Inquisition and now the Rectorate of the University of Palermo.

Quite a change, huh? The Vucciria is as much an icon of the city as its market. Palermitans often repeat that Vucciria market is nothing like it used to be, so Guttuso’s painting is a good way to imagine what the market might have looked like almost half a century ago, when he painted it in 1974.

A place full of color and market stalls with their vendors shouting their fruits, vegetables, meat, fish... while customers and passersby navigate through the crowded streets.

One of the mysteries of the painting is to know for sure how many people really are there. It is said that every time you count them you will always find a new one hidden.

If you visit it at the Steri you won’t only see it, but also hear it. The exhibition integrates a sound system that makes you really feel that you are immersed in the atmosphere of the market, with its vitality and energy.

If after visiting the painting, you take a walk through the Vucciria market you will immediately identify the street that Guttuso painted.

And if you look back you will discover the place from where he did it: the balcony of the old trattoria Shangai, where he used to go for lunch, of which unfortunately only some remains of the red structure are left.

But don’t tell me that for a moment you don’t imagine he is still there, observing the daily life of his dear Vucciria.

Anti-Italian Hate Speech "Dumb W*ps*

Someone left a racist comment under our blog post about spleen sandwiches, using the pejorative racial slur against Southern Italians, “w*p.”

Our little company, Palermo Street Food, and this blog are loudly and proudly run by Southern Italians and we will not tolerate hate speech of any kind against any group of people.

 
 

Instead of simply deleting the comment (which of course we did), we’d also like to take this opportunity to contextualize the word “w*p” in the landscape of anti-Italian racism and discrimination.

“W*p” has historical significance as a racist term against Italian people in the United States, specifically people from the Southern Italian ethnic group; the Italian regions of Abruzzo, Molise, Campania, Puglia, Basilicata, Calabria and the two islands of Sicily and Sardegna.

“Wop. The word implies an illiterate Italian immigrant working as a day laborer. This word is a distortion of the Spanish word “guepo’ which means a tough, brave Sicilian. The Italians themselves now use the word ‘guappo’ in a derogatory sense to mean Sicilian. It is one of the most common derogatory designations of the Italian in the USA. This word is typical of the colloquial speech.”
— TYPES OF ETHNOPHOBISMS, THEIR ETYMOLOGY AND USAGE Mizetska V. Y., Zubov M. I.

Racist caricature of Italian people in the United States of America, 1911

There is some debate abut the etymology of the word “w*p",” did it come from the Italian word “guappo” or was it an acronym for “With Out Papers,” in the same way that the word “cop” was an acronym for for “Constable On Patrol?” As Ben Zimmer says in this Atlantic article:

The best guess from etymologists is that the source is a southern Italian dialectal word, guappo or guappu, meaning “dandy” or “swaggerer.” That, in turn, is likely from the Spanish word guapo meaning “handsome” or “bold,” imported to Sicily when the island was occupied by Spain. Sicilian immigrants to the United States brought the swaggering word with them. It “connoted arrogance, bluster, and maleficence entwined,” wrote the music journalist Nick Tosches in his 2001 book Where Dead Voices Gather, in a historical exploration of the Italian-flavored pop-music genre once known as “wop songs.” Here is how Tosches describes (with some literary embellishment) the way that guappo and its variants became wop on American shores:

It was these Sicilian words that were commonly used to describe the work-bosses who lured their greenhorn paesani into servitude in New York City in the early years of the twentieth century. In New York and other American seaports, the lowly labor of the Italian immigrants’ servitude—the dockside toil and offal-hauling that others shunned—came to be called … guappu work; and eventually the laborer himself, and not the boss, was known as guappu. The peasant immigrants’ tendency to clip the final vowels from standard Italian and Sicilian—as in paesan’ for paesano—rendered guappu as guapp’, which was pronounced, more or less, as wop.

Whatever the origin of the word, “w*p” came into use as a racial slur that functioned to other the southern Italian ethnic group in the USA. In 1882, the New York Times posted an article titled Our Future Citizens, writing:

“There has never been since New York was founded so low and ignorant a class among the immigrants who poured in here as the Southern Italians who have been crowding our docks during the past year.”

This was the social climate in which the word “w*p” became prevalent.

Sicilians were often at the nucleus of anti-Italian hate. For example, this NYTimes article for 2019 How Italians Became ‘White’ describes the trope of Sicilians as “rattlesnakes.”

“A scabrous Times editorial justified the lynching (of Italians) — and dehumanized the dead, with by-now-familiar racist stereotypes.

“These sneaking and cowardly Sicilians,” the editors wrote, “the descendants of bandits and assassins, who have transported to this country the lawless passions, the cutthroat practices … are to us a pest without mitigations. Our own rattlesnakes are as good citizens as they. Our own murderers are men of feeling and nobility compared to them.”

The editors concluded of the lynching that it would be difficult to find “one individual who would confess that privately he deplores it very much.”

To learn more about the history of anti-Italian racism in the USA, we strongly suggest this article How Italians Became ‘White.’

Climbing in Caltavuturo, in the Madonie Mountains

When Dominique Vivant Denon arrived in the Sicilian town of Caltavuturo in 1778, his first thought was
“big and sublime.” As he wrote, Caltavuturo is a place of “steep mountains, hanging rocks, glimpses of the sea, old castles as in fairy tales.”

Caltavuturno is perhaps the best spot for rock climbing in Sicily. It is one of only a handful of places in Sicily where it is possible to climb in the summer with mild temperature.

In Caltavuturo, if you love breathtaking Sicilian landscapes and climbing, you will adore the imposing cliffs that compose the landscape.

The cliffs were summited between 2005 and 2006 by Rosario Cammara with the help of 5 members of Association “Cabeci Climbing, ” and operation co-financed, although in a modest way, by public institutions: the city hall of Caltavuturo and the “Ente Parco delle Madonie”.

The orientation to North of the cliffs, the height of about 700 meters, the location, the surroundings, the quality of rock, allow for a different climbing that requires technique and physical strength in the fingers.

All of these elements make a unique experience also because it is one of few places in Sicily where it is possible to climb in the summer with mild temperature.

Caltavuturo is near the sea of Cefalù, full of trekking adventure paths and path by bike with dedicated services.

How to get to Caltavuturo?
For who is arriving from Catania, highway exit: Tremonzelli.

For who is arriving from Messina/Palermo, highway exit: Scillato.

Climbing takes a lot of physical effort to reach the top of the mountain, but at the end, the effort will disappear because of the wonderful view in front of you.

It is compulsory wear a helmet. It is forbidden to climb:
- When the weather conditions are not good;
- In presence of animals grazing in the slope up the cliff.

For more information, send a mail to tom.caltavuturo@gmail.com.

After the nice climbing, you might want to go to go to Sclafani Bagni, only 10kms distance from Caltavuturo.

Sclafani is a town on a rock, known for the thermal bath. There is a place where it is possible to take a bath in a warm water, while admiring the wonderful panorama with mountains.

Inside the small hot spring you will find the mud and use it to cover the body with. It has good benefits for your skin.

A Basic Sicilian Vocabulary

As soon as you set foot in Palermo you will immediately realize that, along with Italian, the Sicilians also speak their own language, Sicilian, a language in which traces of Arabic, Spanish, French and even Greek are mixed.

As happens with all languages, there are certain words and expressions that are untranslatable and express the identity of the place better than anything else. Some of Sicilian words have become a kind of trademark of the island by its own right.

On Instagram, different profiles help us to learn some Sicilian words in a funny way, but if you have a finely tuned ear, you will surely be able to pick them up on the fly on any street you pass by. And if not, just look around and you'll find them stamped on souvenirs of all kinds or in the windows of talented artists.

Here is a brief guide that every traveler should know:

- Minchia!, literally it means "penis" and is certainly the most used expression in Sicily. It is used to express surprise and can be easily inserted into any part of the conversation. It also has derivatives, such as minchiata, if you have said or done something you shouldn't have, then: hai fatto una minchiata!

- Camurria: almost anything that bothers you or tires you or bores you is a camurria. For example, when you have to return home after your holidays in Sicily, you would say: Che camurria! Or when the time to pack your suitcase will arrive, then you would describe that action as camurriosa.

- Futtitinni: more than a word, it is a philosophy of life. If you have a difficulty or a problem, futtitini, this is, go ahead, don't worry and enjoy yourself, because that thing it's not that important. Have you missed the plane? You can’t go back home? Futtitinni!

- Che duci!, in Italian it would be dolce, in English, how sweet. It is used for food, of course, but especially for people. Did you have a nice detail with someone? Then you've been duci!

- Arricriarsi: if an Italian enjoys, a Sicilian s'arricrìa. Arricriarsi is not just to be well or to have fun, but it has an extra nuance, there is a feeling of fullness, of great pleasure. You say this when you have lived that perfect moment that has it all what you need.

Viva Santa Rusulia! The festino in Palermo for Saint Rosalia.

“U Fistinu” is the name that the Palermitani give to the big and most important celebration of the year, the memorial of the miracle that saved the city of Palermo from the terrible plague pandemic of 1624.

 
 

The miracle was made by Santa Rosalia or, as called in Sicilian dialect: “A Santuzza.” Or, Palermo's Saint Rosalie, as she is known in English.

The celebration starts on July, 10th and it lasts 5 days until the 15th, the day when Santa Rosalia's urn is marched through the city in a grand procession. It's when the mortal body of S. Rosalia travels through the streets of Palermo's historic city center.

 
 

During the 4 days that precede the procession, 2 programs are planned: one religious with liturgical celebrations and exhibitions dedicated to the Saint and many re-enactment shows.

The second program is connected to city hall. There is a huge parade, on the 14th of July, carried out from the Cathedral

located in Corso Vittorio Emanuele with the last stop in the “Foro Italico” located at the end of the street Corso Vittorio Emanuele.

For the event, a big float is built with the statue of Saint Rosalia. People from all over the city walk behind the float and ehen the parade and the huge crowd arrives at Foro Italico, there is always a spectacular firework show and everyone yells out: “Viva Palermo e Santa Rosalia,” long live Palermo and Saint Rosalie. During this time in Palermo, some streets are also decorated with lights, pictures of the Saint, and altars with her statue.

Over the years “il festino,” as the Santa Rosalia party is nicknamed, became more and more important, full of meanings, scenographies, and choreographies connected to the tradition and the religious cult.

The festino attracts people from every part of Sicily and amazes tourists that, for the occasion, participate in the celebration in July.

Then in September, there is the feast in the Sanctuary of Santa Rosalia in Monte Pellegrino and the Palermitani people do the “Acchianata”, a pilgrimage by foot running across one ancient path of about 4 km.

the Sanctuary of Santa Rosalia, on the top of Mount Pellegrino in Palermo includes one wall dating back to 1600, next to the rock and the cave of Saint Rosalia, located almost at the highest point of the mountain. Inside it is possible to admire the statue of the Saint. The famous statue is of her lying with her head resting on her right hand.

The sanctuary has always been a sacred place. King Carlo III of Borbone, gifted the Palermitan senate precious ornaments to decorate and honor the statue. The statue's body is covered with a damask dress all in gold and her head is adorned with a crown made with golden roses. Between the fingers of her left hand she has a crucifix and one book.

The Palatine Chapel in Palermo

Do you love art and you would like to spend a unique day in Palermo?

It’s time to visit the Palatine Chapel. It is located in the Norman Palace (also known as the Royal Palace), the oldest royal house of Europe that today is also the headquarters of the Sicilian Regional Assembly. The Palatine Chapel was named 2015 UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the path of Arabic-Norman Palermo, along with the cathedrals of Cefalù and Monreale. It was dedicated to St. Peter the apostle and built as a place of worship for the royal family.

The building of the Norman-Byzantine basilica goes back to year 1117. But only in 1129 did the construction of it actually begin, ordered bt King Ruggero II of Sicily. Its building was completed in 1143, when it was inaugurated. Already by 1458 some repairs were needed, like the roof. The last repairs were done in 2008, due to the damage from the earthquake in 2002.

The chapel is divided in 3 naves, separated by granite and marble columns with composite capitals, which support 5 ogival strings for every side. The chapel is one of the best preserved Medieval monuments because there are different styles that coexist: the marble decoration in opus sectile, marble inlay of the floors and walls, the Byzantine mosaics of the presbytery on the aisles, and the Islamic paintings of the muqarnas (decorative technique aka “honeycomb”). The mosaics represent biblical figures, geometric shapes, animals and dancers.

The dominant figure is Christ Pantocrator, present in the cupola in the act of blessing, with the 3 fingers up. Christ’s clothes remind us of the ceremonial clothes of Byzantine people.

To buy tickets to visit this chapel and get visitor info, including opening times, dates, and the price for the tickets, click here: https://www.federicosecondo.org/costo-biglietto/

Tulips of Blufi, the small Holland of Sicily

 

Did you know that in Sicily there is a tulip field just as beautiful as in The Netherlands?

The Netherlands is known as the country of flowers, in particular tulips, and the country of bikes… with baskets filled in with tulips!

In Sicily, there is also a beautiful field, with red tulips, and a nice panorama with mountains!

This field is located in Blufi, province of Palermo (98,6 km from Palermo), a very small town in the Park of Madonie. But this is a natural Tulip field! The flowers bloom in March and the tulips grew spontaneously in a field cultivated with wheat, between olive trees and almond trees.

It’s a magical panorama of blossoms of colors.

The tulips of Blufi are particularly resistant to the operations of wheat-field ploughing, thanks to the position of bulbs,
around 50 centimeters deep. It is called “fringed tulip”, a tulip variety of unknown origin.

This field is located near the Sanctuary of Madonna dell’Olio. The tulip field now is fenced and there are rules about how to appreciate the tulips respectfully:

1. It is possible to enter only from the main entrance and follow the obligated path inside the field.
2. You cannot enter the field without permission
3. You may not touch or step on tulips and you may not remove the bulbs
4. Picnics and camping are prohibited

The flowers bloom around March but we suggest you follow on Facebook the page “I Tulipani di Madonna dell’Olio” to understand when it is the best period to see the tulips of Blufi.

 

Martorana Church aka Ammiraglio Church in Palermo

Walking in Palermo, it is so easy to visit and to discover different parts of the beautiful city. If you are planning
to spend time in Palermo and you like visiting and seeing beautiful sites, the Martorana church is one you can’t miss.

The church known as Martorana is located in Piazza Bellini, 3 Palermo. Its building was completed in 1143 and built by Giorgio Antiocheno, a big admiral under King Ruggero II, King of Sicily.

In 1221 the church was given to the Greek clergy. In 1436 the king Alfonso d’Aragona gave to the Benedictine nuns that lived in the nearest monastery of Martorana.

Over the years some changes happen in the church, such as the original face was destroyed along with the original mosaics inside. Now the inner part of the church has a mix of ancient elements and baroque elements. The floor is original, although heavily restored.

There still beautiful mosaics in the church and they represent the following scenes:
1. Christ enthroned surrounded by 4 archangels (in the dome that have to the base one Arabic
sentence on wooden boards); prophets and king (in the drum)
2. Annunciation and presentation to the temple (in the arcades)
3. Saint Giuseppe
4. Apostles
5. Nativity
6. The Virgin Maria
7. Giorgio Antiocheno on the feet of the Virgin;
8. Christ crowning King Ruggero

The Benedictine Monastery of the Matorana Church was built in 1194 by Goffredo and Eloisa Martorana, near the two churches: Ammiraglio and S. Cataldo.

The church, the monastery, and a convent took the name “complex martorana” to honor and remember the sweet desserts baked by the nuns. The monastery was transformed into a university place but then was destroyed.

In one room was a nice wooden roof painting of XVII century. In a small garden there was a baroque fountain that used columns probably taken from the nearest Norman buildings.

The name of the church is connected to the sweet desserts typical in Palermo: “a martorana” or “marzapane.” The tradition tells us that the garden of the monastery was rich, one of the nicest gardens and land in all
city where fruit trees grew and vegetables too, cared for by the nuns.

Matorana is a Sicilian marzipan dessert. Matorana is almond paste sweets made to look like fresh fruit.

One day, the bishop, curious to visit it during the autumn period, decided to go to the monastery and to
take a look. The garden did not have any fruits because of the season. The nuns decorated the trees with
marzipan sweets made with almonds flour, and the typical Sicilian dessert Matorana was born!

The recipe goes back to XIII – XIV century and it has Arabic origins. Originally, the “marzipan” was a wooden box with a plug and it was used for different things, as to save important documents (from this: “open the marzapani and reveal secrets). Frequently this box was used to send sweets made with flour and almonds.

Let’s take a walk in the historical city center of Palermo, find a pastry and taste the sweet martorana fruit.

Enjoy the taste.

Li Carnivali, Carnival in Palermo, Sicily since the 1600s + Authentic Recipe for Chiacchiere

Carnival time in Sicily is a moment of a big party, glitz, and celebrations full of colors.

 
celebrating carnival in sicily
 

The term carnival derives from the expressions “carnem levare,” referring to the ecclesiastic ban on eating meat during the Lent season.

The first historical references to the Sicilian Carnival are from 1600 and are located in the city of
Palermo. At the time, Carnival was a theatre of baroque costume and comedies represented in squares. Theaters became ballrooms where everyone would wear a mask.

Today, the carnival is celebrated in many cities of the world and many cities of Sicily, where usually the day
is full of parades with masks, allegorical floats, and music.

We celebrate, before the carnival parade, different days of carnival: Thursday of cousins, Thursday of
friends, giovedì grasso where usually a typical dinner is with “sugo” tomato sauce and meat. The last day of celebrating during this period before the Lent season is martedì grasso, fat Tuesday.

A typical sweet food in Palermo during carnival is “chiacchiera.” It is a crunchy pastry fried or cooked in the oven.

Here’s a quick recipe for chiacchiere — 40 pieces:

Ingredients for authentic Sicilia chiacchiere:

  • flour 00 500 gr

  • butter at room temperature 50gr

  • 3 medium eggs

  • vanilla

  • a pinch of salt

  • sugar 70gr

  • 1 yolk

  • baking powder 6gr

  • grappa

  1. To make the chiacchiere, sift the flour with the baking powder and add to mixer (leaf beater suggested).

  2. Add the sugar, salt, beaten eggs, yolk, grappa. Work until all ingredients are mixed very well.

  3. Add the vanilla, butter and continue to mix for 15minutes until you will obtain a homogenous mix.

  4. If it needs, it is possible to add 5/10gr of water. Move the mix on a surface and give it a spherical shape.

  5. Wrap it in plastic wrap and leave it in room temperature for 30minutes. After this time, divide the dough in pieces about 150gr each and manage every piece individually.

  6. Flatten and flour it and spread with the aid of a rolling pin.

  7. Do the same steps with the other pieces.

  8. Leave them to rest and warm up the oil. With a scalloped wheel proceed to create some rectangles.

  9. When the oil is warm enough, it is time to fry them and with the aid of forks, turn them from one side to the other side.

  10. At the end, you can add or pudding sugar or warm chocolate and they are ready to tasty.

  11. Enjoy the chiacchiera!!

Palermo, Sicily and the Covid-19 Pandemic

The first date that marked very strong the Covid-19 pandemic period in Italy started on March 9th, 2020. On that day, Giuseppe Conte, the Italian premier, declared Italy in lockdown. The whole country was a red zone. Many people were infected with the Corona Virus. People could only move to other Italian regions for reasons related to their jobs, health, and residence.

In Palermo, the situation started with the arrival of some Italian tourists that wanted to spend few days in a Sicilian hotel and to enjoy the city. Some of them started to get sick and the employees of the hotel decided to stay in quarantine directly in the hotel. 

 

Valeria, of Palermo Street Food, standing in front of Palermo’s Cathedral in her mask during the Covid-19 Pandemic.

 

Every day the city of Palermo was changing, less people in the streets but more and more people at the supermarkets stock up on groceries. There was a period in Palermo that was really difficult to find in the markets: flour, yeast and of course, toilet paper. 

Everybody was trying to stay at home and safe, to cook nice meals, and to follow the rules that the Italian government introduced to reduce the effects of Covid.

Sicily became an isolated island because all the flights were canceled and the ferries from the Italian region Calabria were stopped to avoid the increase of cases. 

During summer 2020, the situation changed a lot, because there were less cases and the people started to go out, to spend days at the beaches, and to visit the city center again. 

 

Our friend Caterina, a biologist, administering Covid-19 tests in Palermo, Sicily

 

Perhaps because some tourism returned to Palermo then, the virus made a resurgence one more time after the summer, at the beginning of autumn 2020 and the second wave of the pandemic took over the city and lasted for most of 2021.

In late 2021 and into 2022, the Omicron variant took over Palermo. Temporary hospitals were set up to take on overflow from emergency rooms.

 
covid testing site in Palermo

Covid-19 testing in Palermo, Via Marchese di Villabianca

 

Now, going into spring 2022, in Palermo the face mask protections, the Covid tests, and the vaccines are helping the the city against Covid.

Catania: Sicilian pearl three hours from Palermo

 
 

Have you ever thought about how big Sicily actually is? About 16,051 miles (25.832,39 km). From Palermo, it’s almost three hours to reach Catania, the Sicilian city, with her Majesty Etna.

To get to Catania from Palermo just take the highway Palermo-Catania. The big and high Etna volcano, which is extremely active and just a few days ago erupted, offers us beautiful scenery with a fountain of lava and clouds of smoke.

In a nice city near Catania, Giarre, there is a nice venue called Radicepura Horticultural Park, located at Via Fogazzaro, 19, 95014 Giarre CT, Italy, It’s a great place to celebrate your wedding or event. If you like the idea of celebrating, also a birthday or other celebration, with the view of Etna and the sea at the same time, the botanical garden is the perfect place to make a memory in Sicily.

Your eyes will fall upon one secular olive tree after another, surrounded by white roses, and a nice building with a terrace and a greenhouse.

A garden festival is also organized there, an international event dedicated to garden design and to the architecture of the Mediterranean Sea. The festival aims to give value to nature, through events and new ideas: from music to artistic installations, from botanic to culinary.

After a visit to the city, it is time to relax and to go to a bar to drink an Aperol spritz made with Prosecco, Aperol, and sparkling water, and to have lunch with Sicilian street food.