Stories

For almost 400 years, nothing was known about the painting. Then it appeared in a private collection under another artist’s name, while a similar work in Venice was long believed to be the original Antonello. Later, it turned out that the Venetian version was actually a copy made by one of his followers. The Sicilian Annunziata was finally recognised as a work by Antonello da Messina.

Palazzo Abatellis in the Kalsa was once the home of a powerful official, then spent several centuries as a convent, and today it is a museum. Inside, I would definitely stop for the huge Triumph of Death, the small room with Sicilian Renaissance marble sculpture, and the Annunziata by Antonello da Messina — the work I sometimes come back just to see.

Two very Palermitan dishes, rooted in "cucina povera" and the habit of using everything without waste. Sicily’s famous lamb intestines and spring onions wrapped in pancetta.

Porta Nuova has two completely different faces. On the Monreale side, you’ll see four giants: two with their hands tied, like prisoners of war, and two with their hands cut off, as if they were no longer able to fight. Walk through the gate and look back from the city side, and instead of warriors you’ll see four female busts symbolising peace, justice, truth and abundance. At the top is the eagle, the symbol of Palermo and a reminder of the old Porta dell’Aquila that once stood here.

In the 16th and 17th centuries, Oratorio dei Bianchi was home to the Compagnia del Santissimo Crocifisso — the “White Brothers”, who accompanied prisoners sentenced to death through the last three days of their lives. They talked to them, helped them make peace with their fate and their loved ones, accompanied them to their execution, and later took care of their burial.

They say the ceiling of the Cappella Palatina is a vision of paradise. Look up and you’ll see a heavenly palace: music, dancing, birds, hunting scenes, gardens and flowers — a whole world carved in the Arab tradition.

When Lisca Bianca set off on her round-the-world voyage, her owners, Sergio and Licia, were around 60 years old. Over the next three years, they sailed around the world on a 13-metre wooden yacht, meeting Sicilian emigrants along the way and working on a book. When they returned to Palermo, around 5,000 people were there to welcome them.

The first time I decided to try brioche with gelato, I had absolutely no idea how I was supposed to eat it: with a spoon or by taking a bite, together or separately. Turns out, it’s simple — eat it however you like. And the little ball on top of the brioche, which always reminded me of the knob on a pot lid, is called a tuppo — a woman’s bun.