14-15 Sep Home to Palermo

  

This post is based primarily on Don's notes, occasionally supplemented with MT's notes from our tour of Sicily in September 2023. When information from other sources is added—for further explanation to readers or to satisfy our own curiosity—that is set off in a text box (as this one).
Most of the photos that accompany this post are from Don’s camera (with a caption indicating the time it was taken); those from MT’s iPhone are indicated by “MT” or “LARA” placed at the beginning of the photo caption. Photos from Don and MT’s trip to Sicily in 2005 will have “2005” at the beginning of the caption. Photos from any other source (such as the public domain Wikimedia Commons), occasionally used for clarification, indicate that source in the caption.

The shuttle came around 9:30 am on Sep 14 to take us to KCI airport in Kansas City.

MT Thursday, ‎September 13, ‎2023, ‏‎10:39 AM - Kansas City: Don with artwork in new KCI terminal. 

While we were waiting to board United flight 6055 to Washington, DC, the captain (pilot) came off the plane to speak to the passengers. She informed us that we could expect some turbulence during this flight due to the effects of Hurricane Lee over the Atlantic. (Actually, we never felt any turbulence; so this warning was merely a precaution.)

The flight departed KCI at 12:20 pm, as scheduled and arrived in Washington, DC at 3:51 pm (Eastern).

MT Thursday, September 14, 1:22 PM - United 6055 above clouds. 

We departed Washington at 5:30 pm on United flight 108 for Munich.

MT Friday, September 15, 12:10 AM - United 6055 above a city near sunrise.

MT 6:36 AM - United 6055 at sunrise. 

We arrived in Munich at 7:40 am on Sep 15. We departed Munich at 9:10 am on Lufthansa flight 1914 for Palermo.

We arrived in Palermo at 11:05 am on Sep 15.

MT 11:24 AM - Palermo: Airport - Welcome to Palermo sign, in several languages.

MT 11:24 AM - Palermo: Air[ort - MT pointing to Welcome to Palermo sign, in several languages. 

Lara and Chiara were scheduled to arrive from Bologna by Ryan Air at 11:35 am. As it happened, we met them at the baggage claim.

MT 12:37 PM - Palermo: Airport - Selfie of Chiara, Lara, MT,  and Don. 

The four of us went to pick up the rental car, a Ford Focus station wagon. (Lara had requested this in order to accommodate our luggage. MT had a full-size suitcase, Don had a carry-on size, and Lara and Chiara had one full-size and two small carry-ons. It was such a tight fit in the car's luggage space that MT and Lara each later took a photo of exactly hot we got everything in, so we could do it again throughout our trip.

Sunday, September 17, 2023 (9:55 AM) - Tight fit in luggage space of rental car.

MT 12:40 PM - Palermo: Airport - our rental car, with Don and Chiara in back seat. 

We drove from the Palermo airport to Hotel Garibaldi in Palermo. The car had a built-in GPS, and Lara also had Google Maps on her cell phone. The first problem we had was that when we came to the A29 highway near the airport, we accidentally took the turn for A20 in the direction of Trapani (on the west coast) rather than toward Palermo (to the southeast). It took us several turns from the next exit before we got headed toward Palermo. When we were near the hotel, the car's GPS said to turn left at Piazza Ruggero Settimo, a square where we saw the impressive Teatro Politeama Garibaldi (although we were too busy navigating to take any photos of it).

Palermo: Teatro Politeama Garibaldi (By Palermo-Politeama-bjs-1.jpg: Bjsuploaded and derivative work: MrPanyGoff - Palermo-Politeama-bjs-1.jpg, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=14853249).

 
The Teatro Politeama Garibaldi (Politeama for short) is a theater located in the central Piazza Ruggero Settimo. In 1864, the municipality of Palermo launched an international competition for the construction of a monumental opera house (Teatro Massimo) and, a year later, an internal competition for the construction of a diurnal multi-purpose theater (hence the name “Politeama” from the Greek). Unlike the “aristocratic” Teatro Massimo, the Politeama would house more popular shows, operettas, festivals, equestrian shows, etc.). When Guiseppi Garibaldi died in 1882, the theater was named after him. It was built in 1885-91 in Neoclassical style.

Palermo: Map of Teatro Politeama Garibaldi (https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=14853249).

This map shows Via della Liberta (yellow at top left), on which we came from the NW to Piazza Ruggero Settimo, on which Teatro Politeama is identified by a blue marker. When the car's GPS said to turn left at the Piazza, we turned NE at the first corner of the square (following another yellow line). Then it told us to turn right (on the very narrow Via Isidoro La Lumia) just past the NE corner of the theater. At the end of that block, at the intersection with Via Emerico Amari (on which our hotel was located, between the theater and Via Roma, in yellow at right). At that point, the GPS said to turn left. However, access to Via Emerico Amari was blocked by concrete barriers and metal stanchions (because it was a pedestrianized zone).

Fortunately, Don had a note from his pre-trip research with the telephone number of the hotel, which MT called on Lara's cell phone and was told we needed to go around the barriers into a pedestrianized zone to get to the entrance to the hotel's self-parking garage. (Our group's hotel reservation had included an extra €25 per day under Lara's room for the onsite self-parking.)

Palermo (pop. 676,118 city, 1,300,000 metro) is the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city’s surrounding metropolitan province. The city is over 2,700 years old, founded in 734 BC by the Phoenicians as “Sis” (flower). It then became a possession of Carthage. Two Greek colonies were established, known collectively as Panormos (port). As Panormus, the town became part of the Roman Republic and Empire for over a thousand years. From 831 to 1072, the city was under Arab rule in the Emirate of Sicily, when it became the capital of Sicily for the first time. Its golden age was under Arab rule, when it rivaled Cordoba and Cairo in beauty. The Middle Eastern influence can still be seen in the architecture of the churches, the many alleyways in the old town, and the markets. Following the Norman conquest, Palermo became the capital of the new Kingdom of Sicily, which lasted from 1130 to 1816. The other age of splendor, which left a lasting mark on the city’s civic and religious buildings, was the Baroque period (17th-18th centuries). Palermo is now Sicily’s cultural, economic, and tourism capital.

In his pre-trip research, Don had found on the hotel's web site that it was a 1-minute walk to Via Roma (a major street), 2 minutes to Teatro Politeama Garibaldi and Piazza Ruggero Settimo, 8 minutes south to Teatro Massimo, and 20 minutes south to the Cathedral.

Don's guide book showed street-by street maps of walking tours of "North Palermo" and "South Palermo," both beginning around 6 blocks south of the hotel. Given the tome of day, Don suggested  doing the South Palermo option, which included the Cathedral.

Around 3:20 pm, we asked the desk clerk at the hotel for directions to the Cathedral. Then we all went for a walk from the hotel east to the Via Maqueda, south to Corso Vittorio Emanuele and then west to the Cathedral, the Norman Palace, and Chiesa San Giovanni degli Eremiti.

Italian Street names:

Via = street
Viale = avenue
Corso = main street
Piazza = square

 

MT 3:25 PM - Palermo: view of Teatro Massimo from Via Maqueda. 

 

2005 - Palermo: view of Teatro Massimo. 

Palermo: Teatro Massimo (By Bjs - Own work, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1868148).

 
The Teatro Massimo Vittorio Emanuele (commonly known as Teatro Massimo) is an opera house located on the Piazza Verdi. It was designed to promote the image of the city following the unification of Italy in 1861 and was dedicated to King Victor Emanuel II. Construction began in 1874, and it opened in 1897. In 1974, it was closed for renovations, which were delayed by cost over-runs, corruption, and political in-fighting and was finally reopened in 1997 after being closed for 23 years. At 7,700 sq m (9,209 sq yd or 82,882 sq ft) and with a seating capacity of 1,387, it is the largest opera house in Italy and one of the largest in Europe.

MT 3:28 PM - Palermo: Lara, Chiara, and Don (with guide book) having a snack on Via Maqueda; Chiara has pizza and rest have arancini (one for Lara and one split for MT and Don). 

Arancini (By No machine-readable author provided. Gmelfi assumed (based on copyright claims). - No machine-readable source provided. Own work assumed (based on copyright claims)., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1370774).

Arancini (pronounced ah-rahn=CHEE-nee, Sicilian: Arancine) are Italian rice balls that are stuffed, coated with breadcrumbs, and deep fried. The most common arancini fillings are al ragù (meat with tomato sauce), mozzarella of caciocavallo cheese, and often peas, and al burro or buru (filled with ham and mozzarella or besciamella). A number of regional variants differ in their fillings and shapes. Arancini al ragù produced in eastern Sicily have a conical shape inspired by the volcano Etna.

Arancini in conical shape (By AndreaTartaglia - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=81927286).

MT 3:44 PM - Palermo: view down pedestrianized Via Maqueda to south. 

The first site we came to was the Quattro Canti on Piazza Vigliena.

MT 3:44 PM - Palermo: Quattro Canti - SE and SW corners. 

Quattro Canti (Four Corners [or, some sources say, Four Cantons]), officially known as Piazza Vigliena, is a Baroque square at the intersection of two major streets, Via Maqueda and Corso Vittorio Emanuele (aka the Cassero). It was laid out on the orders of the Spanish Viceroys between 1608 and 1620. This is the intersection of the corners of all four of the ancient quarters (called Mandamenti, Cantons, or Canti) of the old city of Palermo. About 500 m west along the Cassero is the Cathedral and the ancient Palazzo Normani.
The piazza layout is octagonal. Four sides comprise the streets, while the remaining four sides are nearly symmetrical, concave Baroque façades, each with four stories with three full-size statues in their centers. The street level up to the second story features four fountains (completed in 1630), each dedicated to one of the four seasons. The third stories have statues of four Spanish kings who were rulers of Sicily: Charles V (SW), Phillip II (NW), Phillip III (NE), and Phillip IV (SE). Above them in the roofline are their respective coats of arms. The fourth and top stories have statues of four female patron saints of Palermo: Christina of Bolsena (SW), Ninfa (NW), Olivia di Palermo (NE), and Agata (SE).

4:07 PM - Palermo: Quattro Canti - SW corner.

4:08 PM - Palermo: Quattro Canti - NW corner; our group at bottom right.

4:09 PM - Palermo: Quattro Canti - NE corner.

For some reason, Don took 2 photos of the NE corner and none for the SE.

Palermo: Quattro Canti - SE corner (By © José Luiz Bernardes Ribeiro, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=38345889).

Next, we followed the Corso Vittorio Emanuele westward to the Cathedral.

Corso Vittorio Emanuele was originally called the Cassaro (Sicilian: u Cassaru). The name “Cassaro” comes from the Arabic “Qasr” (fortress, castle). It is the most ancient street in Palermo. The street is rooted in the age of the foundation of Palermo by the Phoenicians. It was the main east-west street of the walled Phoenician city. In the Middle Ages, especially during the Islamic and Norman periods, when the street confirmed its role as the main axis of the city, it was also called “As-Simat Al-Balat” (Arabic) and “Via (Platea) Marmorea” (Latin for marble street) because it was paved with slabs of marble. From the late 16th century, the age of the union between the crowns of Spain and Sicily, the street also had the name “Via Toledo”, in honor of the Spanish Viceroy Garcia de Toledo, who authorized the rectification and enlargement of the street. Following the unification of Italy (1861), it was officially named Via Vittorio Emanuele II and later adopted the designation “Corso” (major street). However, the old and distinctive name “Cassaro” is still used by the people. It provides access to a number of important sights, including the Cathedral and the Palazzo dei Normanni.

 

4:22 PM - Palermo: Cathedral - from garden in Piazza della Cattedrale square.

 

Palermo: Cathedral – exterior (By Kiban - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=14673326).

 
The Palermo Cathedral, officially Cattedrale metropolitana della Santa Vergine Maria Assunta (Metropolitan Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary), is located on the Piazza della Cattedrale square. As an architectural complex, it is characterized by the presence of different styles, due to a long history of additions, alterations, and restorations.
The church was erected in 1185 on the area of an earlier Byzantine basilica that was later turned into a mosque after the Arab conquest of the city in the 9th century. The medieval edifice had a basilica plan, of which only some minor architectural elements survive today. The upper orders of the southern corner towers were built between the 14th and 15th centuries. The porch was added in the early Renaissance period. The present Neoclassical appearance dates from work carried out in 1781-1801. The great dome over the main body of the building and the smaller domes covering the aisles are also from that period. The south side has a wide portico (the current main entrance) in Gothic-Catalan style, with three arcades, erected around 1465 and opening into the square.

4:22 PM - Palermo: Cathedral - south portico and western side, from garden in Piazza della Cattedrale square.

4:30 PM - Palermo: Cathedral - interior, from rear to apse.

2005 - Palermo: Cathedral - exterior of apse.

2005 - Palermo: Cathedral - exterior of apse (from side), south portico, and dome (before repairs).

2005 - Palermo: Cathedral - south portico, dome and east wing.

Next, we came to the Palazzo dei Normanni (Palace of the Normans), which was closed. Although Don's guidebook said the hours were "9 am-noon Mon, Fri, Sat", a vendor in the nearby square said it had closed at 5 pm because of a special event. (It was only 4:45 and this was a Saturday). Lara was particularly disappointed, since she really wanted to see the Cappella Palatina chapel in the palace.

2005 - Palermo: Palazzo dei Normanni - Norman wing and part of (lower) west wing.

 

The Palazzo dei Normanni (Norman Palace) is also called the Royal Palace of Palermo (Palazzo Reale). It was the seat of the Norman Kings of Sicily of the Hauteville dynasty (1130-1198) and served afterwards as the main seat of power for the subsequent rulers of Sicily. It is the oldest royal residence in Europe and was the private residence of the rulers of the Kingdom of Sicily and the imperial seat of Frederick II and Conrad IV.
The Arabs built the first palace in the 11th century, over the ruins of a Roman fort. In the 12th century, it was enlarged and became the royal palace of the Norman King Roger II, with Arab architects and craftsmen building towers and pavilions for the king and his retinue.
The first building of the palace complex was a Norman castle. After the Normans invaded Sicily in 1072 (just 6 years after they conquered England) and established Palermo as the capital of the new County of Sicily, the palace was chosen as the main residence of the kings. In 1132, King Roger II added the famous Cappella Palatina to the complex. In the second half of the 16th century, the Spanish viceroys chose it as their official residence. From 1946, the palace has been the seat of the Sicilian Regional Assembly, and the west wing (with the Porta Nuova) was assigned to the Italian Army.

The palace contains the Cappella Palatina (Palatine Chapel), by far the best example of the so-called Norman-Arab-Byzantine style that prevailed in 12th-century Sicily. The wonderful mosaics, the wooden roof (elaborately fretted and painted), and the marble incrustation of the lower walls and the floor are very fine. This royal chapel of the Norman kings of Sicily is situated on the ground floor at the center of the palace.

Palermo: Palazzo dei Normanni – Cappella Palatina, view from rear to apse (By Fintan Corrigan of http://friendly-hotels.com - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=35670228).

Palermo: Palazzo dei Normanni – Cappella Palatina, mosaic of Christ Pantocrator in  apse (By © José Luiz Bernardes Ribeiro, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=38521141) Attribution required.

Palermo: Palazzo dei Normanni – Cappella Palatina with Fatamid arches and Byzantine mosaics (By No machine-readable author provided. Urban~commonswiki assumed (based on copyright claims). - No machine-readable source provided. Own work assumed (based on copyright claims)., CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=295018).

  

4:45 PM - Palermo: Palazzo dei Normanni - west wing with Porta Nuova at right.

Palermo: Port Nuova (Di Allie_Caulfield - 2009-03-22 03-29 Sizilien 099 Palermo, Porta Nuova, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6638251).

The Porta Nuova (New Portal), adjacent to the west wing of the Palazzo dei Normanni, was for centuries the most important access to Palermo by land. It provided entrance to the city from Corso Calatafimi (the way to Monreale to the west). The Corso Vittorio Emanuele, the main and most ancient artery of the city, starts from here and leads to the east.
The original passage, called Porta dell’ Aquila (Gate of the Eagle), was opened in 1460. After the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V’s conquest of Tunis with a victory over the Ottomans, the Emperor came to Sicily and entered Palermo through that gate in 1535. To commemorate this event, the Senate of Palermo decreed to rebuild the gate in a more sumptuous style. However, it was not until 1583 that the Porta Nuova was commissioned by the Spanish viceroy, to celebrate the victory over the Turkish armies. It was completed in 1584. The building suffered almost total destruction in 1667, when gunpowder stored there exploded due to lightning. When it was rebuilt in 1669, the architect decided to crown the building with a pyramidal roof.

 

Next, we came to the nearby church San Giovanni degli Eremiti.

2005 - Palermo: San Giovanni degli Eremiti - three apses with red domes, one of which is above the one semicircular apse that protrudes from the wall and one that tops the bell tower; part of Palazzo dei Normanni at right.

 
The Chiesa di San Giovanni degli Eremiti (Church of St. John of the Hermits) is an ancient former monastic church located about two blocks south from the Palazzo dei Normanni and adjacent to the church of San Giorgio in Kemonia. While the interior is virtually devoid of decoration and furnishings, the red Norman-Byzantine domes make this small church a symbol of ancient Palermo.
A church and a Benedictine monastery existed at this site prior to the 6th century. It is said that the Saracen conquerors closed or razed the monastery, perhaps converting the church into a mosque. After the Norman conquest, circa 1136, the site was restored to the Benedictine monks and was dedicated to St. John the Evangelist. It is not clear why the church gained the tag of Eremiti, although it is possible that it refers to the cloistered Benedictine monks (hermits, from Greek eremites, monks).
 

Palermo: San Giovanni degli Eremiti – exterior wall of refectory and red-domed bell tower with three red domes below it (Di Sibeaster - Opera propria, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16272587).

 
 

Palermo: San Giovanni degli Eremiti – detail of bell tower (By Bjs - Own workCamera Canon EOS 300V with Canon Zoom Lens EF 28-90mmScan from the film negative, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=543231).

The church is notable for its brilliant red domes, which clearly show the persistence of Arab influences in Sicily at the time of its reconstruction in the 12th century, the Arab-Norman culture. With cubic bodies and five hemispherical domes, it is a typical example of the Arab style present in Sicily. The church has three semicircular apses, of which only the central one protrudes outside the wall. Each apse is surmounted by a dome, like that of the two quadrangular bodies that flank it, and the one on the left transept rises as a bell tower. Behind them, over the main body (nave) of the church, are two larger red domes.

 

5:07 PM - Palermo: San Giovanni degli Eremiti - side view with red Arabic domes; façade and bell tower of church of San Giorgio in Kemonia at left.

We found that the nearby church San Giorgio in Kemonia was open (although we mistook it for part of San Giovanni degli Eremiti, as we had in 2005).

2005 - Palermo: San Giorgio in Kemonia - façade and bell tower, adjacent to San Giovanni degli Eremiti on far right.

The Chiesa di San Giorgio in Kemonia (Church of St. George in Kemonia), renamed in the 1950s as San Giuseppe Cafasso, is a Roman Catholic church located adjacent to the ancient church of San Giovanni degli Eremiti on its right.
The church was built near or atop a former river (Kemonia) that flowed through to a bay that was part of the Palermo harbor. However, the river ceased to flow by the 16th century. A church was putatively present at this site by the 4th century, a primitive place of worship at the time Christians were persecuted in the Roman Empire. At some point, the Arabs may have destroyed the building or probably converted it into a mosque. After the Norman conquest of Sicily (999-1139), a church here was affiliated with a Cistercian monastery. By the 12th century, the church was assigned to the Olivetan order, with Benedictine monks. In 1765, a major refurbishment was begun that transformed the then 14th-century church into a late-Baroque style. The façade of the original building faced west, but the present building faces east. On the right side, in a backward position, stands the charming bell tower.
The façade is made of yellow stone and proliferates with pilasters. The portico has a broken triangular tympanum and two protruding columns.
The interior is in Neoclassical style (in contrast to the Baroque exterior). It has a single nave with three chapels on each side. The apse still retains its medieval semicircular form. The interior walls are decorated with Rococo stucco. The vault has a false dome painted in trompe-l’oeil. The ceiling of the nave has a painting depicting the Virgin Mary granting St. Benedict the scapular of his order. 

5:10 PM - Palermo: San Giorgio in Kemonia – rear to apse.

Palermo - San Giorgio in Kemonia – rear to apse (Di Effems - Opera propria, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=81098457).

 

5:18 PM - Palermo: façade and bell tower of church of San Giorgio in Kemonia at left; San Giovanni degli Eremiti - side view with red four of its Arabic domes at right.

After that, some of us were tired, and we took a taxi (€25) back to the hotel, arriving there a little after 6 pm.

At 7:30, we went to dinner (included) in Hotel Garibaldi.