Palermo, Sicily Photo Stroll

In my opinion, Palermo Sicily seemed like it's the heart of all things Italian. Some of my first memories of understanding what Italy was and Italian meant was from the Godfather. And so when it came time to go to school on the boarder of Italy I naively assumed Italy was like the Godfather.

 

Turns out ... not so much. But Sicily...oh my goodness. What a city.

 

Dirty. Grimmy. Gritty. Poverty stricken. And yet, beautiful all at the same time.

 

This is the Quattro Canti in Palermo. The piazza is octagonal, and appeared to be larger in photos than it really is. It is the intersection of major streets. Each façade is nearly identical and contain fountains with statues of the four seasons, the four Spanish kings of  Sicily, and the patronesses of Palermo (Cristina, Ninfa, Olivia, and Agata).

 

"The facades onto the interchange are curved, and rise to four floors; the fountains rise to the height of the second floor, the third and fourth floors contain the statues in niches. At the time the piazza was built, it was one of the first major examples of town planning in Europe," according to Wikipedia.

 

 

I really have no idea what building this is. After some extensive research I discovered this the Palazzo dei Normanni - or the Royal Palace of Palermo. It was where the Kings of Sicily sat during the Norman domination. Today it's where the parliament lives. 

 

The fountain of Shame ... hardly subtle. It's adorned with depictions of allegories, animal heads, nymphs, monsters, ornamental staircases and balustrades, and, of course, gods and goddesses who make up an encyclopedia of Mount Olympus.  The Fontana della Vergogna, the "fountain of shame”, is so named because of the nude statues that stand around the base of each tier, it is one of the few true pieces of High Renaissance art in Palermo.

The Church of St Ignatius of Olivella was located in the little piazza in which we were given free time. We had gelato, cappuccino and a stroll down the street to a market. I shot a few photos of the church and the surrounding statues.

 

Massive scoop of gelato. I was in heaven. I let this young girl who was with her father pick my flavor. She chose well too.

What's left of my gelato and cappuccino.

Like I always do, I did some research on the type of food a region might be famous for. I came across this photo.



Photo courtesy of Imperatore Travel Blog

It looked delicious to me. Then I read what it was. It's called la Stigghiola. Then I looked it up. "The stigghiola (plural: stigghiole, also known as stigghiuola) is a Sicilian food specialty, typical of the city of Palermo. It consists of guts (usually of lamb, but also of goat or chicken) which are washed in water and salt, seasoned with parsley and often with onion and other pot herbs, then stuck on a skewer or rolled around a leek, and finally cooked directly on the grill." (Wikipedia is awesome.)

Um. YUCK. But alas, I found it and had to take a photo. Cuz that's how I roll.


This is the Teatro Massimo.  It's said to be the largest theater in Italy.  It was also used in the Godfather as the church in which a funeral took place. 

Finally, the Oratorios. These little gems were unlike anything I had seen.  I didn't get the full story behind why they existed at the time. We did get an understand that in their day they were used as a place men (who were only invited, or because a relative was a member) would come and discuss politics, religion, etc of the time.  Mom thought it was early mob. May be.

Both the oratorios we visited were sculpted by Giacomo Serpotta using stucco. Yes, stucco. I had already been amazed by how people sculpted in marble...but stucco? Amazing art.

This was the second of the oratories we visited. My photo sequence says this is the Oratorio di Rosario di Santa Cita. The first oratory we visited was called Oratorio di Santa Cita. So I'm very confused. Let's just say they are both oratories and both belong to Santa Cita somehow.

This one was significantly different in that it had paintings in it and more color.

 

This is the Oratory of Santa Cita (the first one we visited) - also sculpted by Giacamo Serpotta. This was the crowning achievement of the leading baroque decorator of his day. Giacomo Serpotta worked on it between 1686 and 1718. The cherubs were everywhere and I just loved how each of them seemed to have their own personality.  They could be seen sleeping, eating, and simply hugging their knees deep in thought.



This little guy and his buddies were holding up the bench that circled the oratory.

The gold frame there is the signature of the artist.

This is the top of the Garibaldi Theatre. I couldn't get any of the rest of the theater from my position on the bus. Finished in 1874, it was the first of a series of theaters built by wealthy urbanites in the second half of the 19th century.

And lastly, though it was our first stop were the Catacombs of the Capuccini Friars.  Oh....My....God...is all I can say. Well, I can, and will, say more. This little stop was one I was greatly anticipating...especially to photography.  Turned out we weren't allowed ... which has never stopped me before (see Sistine Chapel post), but we were a small group and it was super quiet down there. They would have heard my shutter so I refrained.

Instead I bought postcards and scanned them.

Again, Wikipedia says it best, "Palermo's Capuchin monastery outgrew its original cemetery in the 16th century and monks began to excavate crypts below it. In 1599 they mummified one of their number, recently dead brother Silvestro of Gubbio, and placed him into the catacombs. "

"The bodies were dehydrated on the racks of ceramic pipes in the catacombs and sometimes later washed with vinegar. Some of the bodies were embalmed and others enclosed in sealed glass cabinets. Monks were preserved with their everyday clothing and sometimes with ropes they had worn as a penance.

"Originally the catacombs were intended only for the dead friars. However, in the following centuries it became a status symbol to be entombed into the Capuchin catacombs. In their wills, local luminaries would ask to be preserved in certain clothes, or even to have their clothes changed at regular intervals. Priests wore their clerical vestments, others were clothed according to the contemporary fashion. Relatives would visit to pray for the deceased and also to maintain the body in presentable condition."

Amazing, right?

This was the first Friar to be entombed in 1599.

This was the last person put there. She's a 2 yo girl who was so well preserved, they've studied her extensively.

The rest of the story can be found here in my original blog.

The rest of the photos can be found on my Flickr site.