Palermo, day two
November 16th, 2006
Today, directly after Giorgio’s excellent breakfast, we went east, directly to the Cripta dei Cappuccini, better known as “the catacombs”. In the catacombs you’ll find the skeletons of nearly 8000 Palermitans who died between the 17th and 19th century. I’ve never seen something like that before. Scary and macabre but interesting and definitely worth a visit!
After a quick cappucino next to the Porta Nuova, we went to the grand Cathedral which is located at the Corso Vittorio Emanuele (you’ll find many streets named Vittorio Emanuele on Sicily). From the outside the Cathedral looks really beautiful because of its Arab-Norman style. The inside is beatiful as well, but nothing special. We’ve visited the treasury, the crypt and the tombs of Roger II and Frederick II of Hohenstaufen, two of Sicily’s greatest rulers (all together for 2,50 EUR) which was nice and interesting, but not exciting.
After a quick beer in one of those tourist traps next to the cathedral (1 small and a large beer = 7,50 EUR) we’ve headed to a few other sights of Palermo: the Fontana Pretoria (Piazza Pretoria), La Martorana (which was closed), and the Teatro Massimo. If you ever want to visit the Teatro be sure to check out the Restaurant “Focacceria del Massimo” which is located in a little street, Via Bara all’ Olivella, in front of the Theatre’s main entrance. During lunch-time the little Restaurant can be a bit overcrowded but it’s worth to wait, because the food is cheap and very good (2 Spaghetti Bolognese, two fruits, 1 big beer = 7,20 EUR).
Right after our lunch we went to the seaside of Palermo, where we walked a while on the pier and through the beatiful gardens of Villa Guilia. After that we visited the main train station and made our way back to Giorgio’s place through the Mercato di Ballarò where we bought some fresh “Frutti di Mare” and a few beer for a little “dinner” in Giorgio’s kitchen.
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