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| Flight from Zurich to Palermo |
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| Looking at door leading out of apartment |
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| View towards kitchen- main floor |
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| Upstairs room with bathroom en suite |
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| Downstairs bathroom |
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| Doorway from courtyard- neighbours have an interesting sculpture
Luckily David and Vicky had gone for a long walk in the morning and were willing to retrace their steps with us. It was a wonderful introduction to historic Palermo. The city has an amazing mix of Arab, Norman and Byzantine architectural masterpieces. The population of Palermo is around 650,000 and the city is nearly 3000 years old. It stared as a huddle of Phoenician stores, grew in importance for the Greeks, before being conquered by the Arabs in AD 831, when it flourished. The Normans invaded in 1072. Roger I (1031-1101) made it the seat of his kingdom, encouraging the resident Arabs, Byzantines, Greeks and Italians to remain. The City went through a period of decline after the death of William II in 1189, and Sicily passed from German to French to Spanish to English rule. Italy was united in 1861 under Garibaldi. The mafia emerged in the late 19th century and became very powerful after World War II. After the anti-Mafia trials of the 1990s, Palermo began to emerge slowly as a revitalized city, though unemployment is still very high.
We stopped first in Piazza Bellini and saw the Chiesa Capitolare di San Cataldo, a 12th century church in the Arab-Norman style. It has three pink domes and beautiful intricate details. The Normans merged their architectural style with that of the Arabs in a respectful and beautiful fashion.   Beside the San Cataldo church is the Chiesa di Santa Maria dell'Ammiraglio, a beautifully restored 12th century church endowed by King Roger's Syrian emir, originally planned as a mosque. In 1433, the church was given over to an order of Benedictine nuns who reworked the exterior and unfortunately demolished most of the stunning mosaics, executed by Greek craftsmen. 
Chiesa di Santa Maria dell'Ammiraglio with old cars for the movie set
The third church in the Piazza Bellini is Chiesa di Santa Caterina, an ornate baroque church built between 1556 and 1596, though features were added in the 18th century. The white vans parked in the piazza were for a film crew that was setting up.
Chiesa di Santa Caterina
After seeing the wonderful exhibit of Doors Without Keys by Iranian photographer and filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami at the Aga Khan museum in Toronto, I have been inspired to take some pictures of the amazing doors we are seeing in Palermo.
We then walked to Piazza Pretoria to see the Fontana Pretoria (Pretoria Fountain), designed in 1552-55 by a Tuscan sculptor, Francesco Camilliani for a Tuscan villa. The fountain was bought by Palermo in 1573 and positioned in front of the Municipal Hall in a bid to outshine a newly crafted fountain in Messina. The fountain contains three levels of concentric basins with statues of nude nymphs and leaping river gods. Due to the many nude statues, it became known as "The fountain of shame".
Fontana Pretoria
Statue detail
We passed another wonderful old door.
We then stopped at the Quattro Canti (Four corners), at the intersection of two of the main streets in the centre of Palermo. The Piazza Vigliena is one of the most fashionable squares in Palermo. It dates from 1600, and is shaped by the concave facades of the four corner buildings. Each facade is decorated with a fountain and statues of the patron saints of the seasons and Spanish Kings. The intersection was really jaw-dropping.
  
Detail
As we wandered, we saw views of the amazing mountains that surround the city.
View of mountain
We then stopped for a late afternoon snack at Aranchine d'autore. We had a wonderful artichoke filled arancina (a rice ball filled with different fillings), a Palermo specialty. It is artichoke season, and it was a great treat.
  
Vicky, David and moi
We carried on our stroll, passing interesting churches, buildings and squares.
We walked through the Mercato della Vucciria, one of Palermo's main markets. It was closing down, so we didn't see many vendors.
 
A statue with a bird on top...
We then stopped for a coffee at Il Bar at the top of La Rinascente, an Italian department store. The view of Palermo was amazing. A lovely spot for a drink.
  
Vicky with pistachio cream
Panorama view from Il Bar
We then wandered though Mercato della Vucciria. There is an iconic painting of the market ("La Vucciria) painted by Renato Guttuso in 1974 which featured in the "Sicily Unpacked" BBC series. There was a black and white poster version in the market.
It is artichoke season and we saw piles of beautiful raw artichokes. One vendor had cooked artichokes in his stall, something we had never seen before.
 
Beautiful artichokes
We passed a building in the Kala district that had been bombed by the Allies in 1943. It remained as a monument to the war.
 
Old Palermo
We passed a wonderful restored building in the Piazza Marina.
As we walked, we had to keep looking up. Wonderful statues on the building walls.
We walked by the Giardino Garibaldi and saw a very ancient, huge ficus tree. The Garden was designed in 1863.
We then went for a drink at Bar Garibaldi on the Piazza San Francesco.
Romanesque church on Piazza
Inside of Bar Garibaldi
We then went for dinner at Osteria dei Vespri. During high season from April to October it transforms into a gourmet restaurant. During the off season from November to March, the prix fixe meals feature Sicilian cuisine at very reasonable prices. The four of us had caponata, lentil soup, pasta with sardines; pasta with fresh artichokes; pear and almond cake, among other Sicilian delicacies.
Piazza Croce dei Vespri
Outside of restaurant
   
Pasta with fresh artichokes and sun-dried tomatoes
Ricotta and cheese
Almond and Pear tart
After a wonderful dinner, we went back to the apartment for a well-deserved sleep.
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Looks like a lovely day :)
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