PALERMO

This place is known as the Crossroads of Spirits, the Theater of the Sun, and occasionally by its official name, Piazza Vigliena. Most of the time, though, everyone simply calls it Quattro Canti — one of the main meeting points in Palermo. Let’s start with the official name. Villena[…]

If you walk from the Cathedral towards the Capo Market, the first thing you’ll notice in the square at the market entrance is a kiosk with the old sign “Chiosco Beati Paoli.” By the way, it’s a nice place to sit down with an Aperol for just €3. And[…]

Another unique cultural feature of Palermo is its Arab-Norman architecture. The reason for its uniqueness lies in history. To put it very roughly and briefly, Palermo was inhabited by Byzantine Greeks, then the Arabs arrived, and later came the Norman conquest. These were the same descendants of the Vikings[…]

One of my absolute favorite parks in Palermo is Villa Giulia — the city’s first public park. In fact, I’m writing this right here, tucked away in the cool shade of the cypress trees. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe once called it “the most beautiful corner of the earth.” They[…]

Another bit of magic from old Palermo cuisine is panelle and crocchè. Crocchè are fairly easy to understand — they are croquettes, although, of course, they differ from the classic kind, especially in their name. Because of their elongated shape, locals call them cazzilli, which literally means “little penises”.[…]

Ever since I moved to Sicily, the Florio family has been the most fascinating part of the island’s modern history for me. A family of entrepreneurs with no title and no great fortune, who turned 19th-century Palermo into one of the richest and most modern cities in the Mediterranean.[…]

You could spend a lifetime eating desserts in Palermo! Maybe you remember the famous scene in The Godfather. After Clemenza and his men kill the traitor Paulie in the car, he says, “Leave the gun. Take the cannoli.” The line about the cannoli was improvised by the actor, but[…]

After moving to Italy, I completely changed my daily routine and, in some ways, even my weekly one. Italy, like several other Southern European countries, loves the Mediterranean lifestyle. That means the city is most active in the morning (7:00 am–1:00 pm) and again after the afternoon break (from[…]

They say Palermo is home to the largest exotic tree in Europe. I say “they say” because our city has so many places that claim to be the biggest, the oldest, or the most beautiful that I usually end up fact-checking everything twice before believing it. After Garibaldi’s victory,[…]

Whenever I take guests for their first walk through Mercato del Capo, I introduce them to Pupa du Capo, which in Sicilian means “the girl of Capo.” Sadly, it is no longer possible to experience this place in its original form. Yet with a little imagination, it is still[…]