To me, Piazza Politeama stands on the border between two worlds of Palermo. Behind you is the loud city most visitors remember, while ahead begins the elegant, quiet and affluent Libertà district. Different people, different cafés, different shops — a different way of life. The neighborhood grew during Palermo’s Belle Époque and was sometimes called the city’s own Champs-Élysées.
The square has preserved one reminder of the poverty that existed at the end of the 19th century — the sculpture The Homeless. To find it, walk across the square from Teatro Politeama until you spot a bronze sculpture of two boys. It was originally created as an independent work by a local sculptor, but after spending almost ten years travelling between exhibitions, it finally found its home here, on the border between two worlds.
And now, the legend.
One cold winter day, two homeless boys wandered through the streets of Palermo. They managed to collect a little money, but it was only enough to buy either two worn-out jackets or a very modest dinner. They were hungry, but they were freezing too. They couldn’t decide what mattered more — warmth or a full stomach. In the end, they split the money: one bought food, the other a jacket.
The boy who chose dinner died from the cold that very night. The other stayed warm and survived, giving himself another chance to find food.
I couldn’t find any record of the message the sculptor intended to convey. But stories like this were an ordinary part of city life in those years, and perhaps the sculpture is simply meant as a reminder. I like that The Homeless finally found their home in a square standing on the border between two worlds of Palermo.