Pretty Palermo, Sicily, Italy

Palermo is the pretty sister to Catania. Palermo is much cleaner and Palermo also has less graffiti and is stunningly more beautiful than Catania. Palermo has hills and mountains and we were situated in the Mondello Beach area and our rental unit was up on a hill. It overlooked Mondello Beach and the two peninsulas. We had a rock wall formation behind us and I have yet to see anywhere in the world to have better views than we had been afforded with this rental property.

There is so much to do in Palermo and so much to do in the Palermo area that it was hard to fit it all into a week. There are seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the city of Palermo. Palermo is a city of under 4.8 million people.

The first full day in Palermo we drove into the city center historic district, parked and got in a small lineup to purchase tickets to the Norman Palace or the Palazzo dei Normanni or the Palace of Palermo which is a UNESCO and it has been influenced by many different cultures including Norman, Byzantine and Arab. It was well worth the visit and it was 17 €.

Part of the Palace in the background.

The Palace is an extensive building which covers this whole area. Originally built as a fortress by the Arabs in the 800s and then the Normans took over and conquered and added on to the Palace in the 1100s and then the Spanish took over in the 1600s. These rocks have many stories to tell.

The Palazzo dei Normanni is a wonderful place that you can tour the outside and almost all the inside of the palace.

Walking into the Palace after going through security. I loved the ancient walls right away. The Palace was built in 1130-1194 AD in a fusion of cultural styles which proves that Christians and Muslims can get along in harmony.

Grand staircase to get up to the first floor. The marble slabs of the staircase are showing their wear and tear but still remain beautiful.

This was an original carriage from 1766. It was ridiculously ornate and built for a Prince.

We first went up to the Royal Apartments and there were some areas that were set up as offices so we couldn't see inside. It is still the working seat of the current government. But there was lots to see in the different rooms and then we went to the Palatine Chapel which was the highlight of the palace. The chapel was under repair and being restored so parts were off limits to us. What we could see was a feast for the eyes. Every surface was covered is minuscule mosaic tiles that were cut into little golden triangles.

The door into the Chapel was solid 6 inch wood.

Gold tile mosaics entirely covered the arches.

The lower walls

A close up of the gold mosaic

The chapel had a funky ceiling too.

Restoration cloths are draped at the back.

The ceiling was painted carved wood.

This was the outdoor wall of the Chapel but inside the Palace and it gave you a glimpse of what you were about to behold. Listening to people, many still had not realized that this was tiny tile work not paint.

At first glance you think it was a painted mural with lots of gold. But when you start looking at it, it's actually all tedious Mosaic tile work which must have taken years to complete. Your neck actually gets sore because you just want to take it all in and most of the solid Mosaic tile work is up above so you're always looking up. There is other Mosaic tile work as well where it's just in 6-inch strips from floor to ceiling and separated by sheets of marble.

Under the arches.

I have never seen this before and it was on another level of talent and engineering. The outer walls of the Chapel were curved in waves. This is almost 1000 years old and this would be hard to replicate now in 2025.

Outside the Chapel before you enter through the door.

You can see the restoration drop sheets hanging in the background but your eyes focus on the gold mosaic tiles. They are other worldly.

Everything in that chapel was something to look at whether it was the carved marble around the doorways or the intricately little carved marble windows or just the golden beauty of the whole ensemble. I left the chapel awestruck.

I walked into the vestibule outside of the chapel exit which was another room to soak in the divine madness of that chapel. But my senses did not get a break because it continued with more.

I could not help myself, I had to pop my head back in for a second look at the divine glory of the chapel. That is when I noticed another set of bronze doors that were so solid I could barely move them. Garth stepped outside the chapel amazed and then I drew his attention to the bronze doors which we discussed in detail on how they were made 1000 years ago.

The intricate metal screen door into the priest's office area.

This was a 12 inch wide section of the trim of the door. It was all carved marble and in surprisingly great shape.

This was the vestibule just outside the chapel and it was stunning.

Carved marble window screen covered by mesh for restoration.

Info on this chapel

We waited for Sandra to come out of the Palatine Chapel and her face had a sense of wonder on it as well. I bet she took 100 photos in the chapel? We moved around to continue our self-run tour and I snapped a few photos.

The courtyard of the Palace.

On display at the Palace was a Michelangelo sculpture. He first began carving this statue
of Jesus but historians believe that the black veining in the marble on Jesus's face made him stop. Michelangelo believed in perfection in his
craft. If you have seen the Pieta at the Vatican, then this statement above will make sense. Another sculptor tried to finish it but it really was not up to Michelangelo standards.

You can see here the black vein in the marble on Jesus's left cheek

A Palace room with a gorgeous ceiling.

Gorgeous painting with a beautiful carved wooden ceiling.

The raised glass ceiling with mosaic was over the top grandiose.

Another private room for the King most likely his bedroom (they think) was covered with gold mosaic tile. I hope the King had good nights of sleep.

Palatial poshness.

A grand painted ceiling in the Palace.

A view of a Turkish rug on the bottom of the photo which was hanging on the wall and a lit up Palace window with original plaster chunks preserved just below the window.

Solid granite pillar entry way into somewhere?

We then moved on to see the photo exhibit, which I'm never terribly interested in, but this one actually surprised me. It was a photo exhibit by Elliot Erwitt who was a Polish Jew. His family immigrated to New York after World War II and he was lucky enough to be under the tutelage of a famous photographer and from there his career took off. He eventually photographed famous people such as Marilyn Monroe, JFK, Jackie Kennedy, Fidel Castro, Hugo Chavez, etc. I loved almost every photo in his exhibit. Mr. Erwitt just recently died a couple of years ago at the ripe old age of 94. This guy thought like I did and what I find visually beautiful and interesting, so did he. His pictures really spoke to me. We did get to see a video expose of an interview of him and I thought 'what an interesting character'. I wish I would have had the chance to get to know this guy. I took a picture of three of my favorite photos but honestly I could have taken pictures of most of them.

OK, this one is adorable with the Great Dane paws, the Chihuahua and the Lady's boots.

Mr. Erwitt captured poignant moments on camera.

I almost missed the archaeological dig underneath the Palace but Sandra reminded me that it was there and I made my way downstairs and I literally almost had the whole place to myself. When they were digging up something under the Palace they discovered that the original gate to the town of Palermo was underneath. It was very interesting how they laid everything out and what century everything belonged to. There was the Islamic age and they had the Norman age, then of course the Roman age etc. Palermo has been invaded and taken over by all of them and more. In fact, Palermo has seen 15 different conquerors and cultures. It is a kaleidoscope of ethnicity both in its architecture, food and people.

Original ceiling mural in a section of the Palace before you enter the dig site.

The original gate to Palermo.

The first outer wall of Palermo shown
on a map.

Artifacts in good condition found under the Palace.

The old walls of the city perhaps dating back to the Phoenicians, an ancient Semitic or Jewish culture involved in shipping. These times date back to 11th Century BCE

We had left the Palace but I spotted a great door on the outside of the Palace walls. Notice the two tiny doors for people and normal use.

After we were finished at the palace, we were all hungry and tried to find a restaurant that was indoors because it was very chilly that day at 12° windy and rainy. We did not luck out finding a restaurant indoors. Most of the restaurant culture is outside in Palermo. It is a warm temperate country. They grow oranges, lemons and mangoes, this was an unusual chilly day.

We decided to try and find a restaurant after we drove back to our rental which was a 30-minute drive from the center of Palermo, remembering that Italy more or less shuts down from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. We waited until 7:00 p.m. and tried to find a restaurant. We drove to La Vecchia which was the first restaurant and it was an abandoned restaurant. We tried another one that didn't work out and we gave up. We decided to drive to Lidl which is a German grocery chain that's in Greece, Italy and Spain and purchased everything we needed for a big juicy traditional Greek salad. The feta cheese is so much better in Europe than it is in Canada and the vegetables are so much fresher, it was absolutely delicious. We were all full and happy and of course we finished that off with a glass of Sicilian Red from the Lidl Supermarket.

A beautiful old Palazzo that has been converted.

Looking aimlessly for a restaurant.

Love these polished old stone walkways.

Leaving the Palace of Palermo.

I booked a wine tour and tasting which was about 51-minutes from our Mondello Beach area and that was the earliest booking I could get was for 4:00 p.m. We had some time to do some things, so we walked down the hill towards the beach and did the boardwalk and walked around and took some pictures and got a feel for the place and looked at some restaurants and then we walked back and we got a mere 7,000 steps in.

Colorful fishing boat down by the dock area.

This was a Turk's Cap Hibiscus and it was a very large bush.

Down at the beach you can see our rental in the background.

It wasn't exactly beach weather, but if it was I would have jumped in for a dip. The water was blue and crystal clear.

This was a mobile fruit and vegetable truck. He called out in Italian on his speaker and he drove up and down the streets and people came to him to buy produce.

This eyesore building was in the middle of the best part of this pretty beach. It was a restaurant and change room rental area. It was a bit of a monstrosity.

This pretty kitty was taking a nap as I was trying to get her attention.

We took the coastal road and then turned inland to see some new territory. We left quite early for a 4:00 pm wine trip and tried to find a restaurant but it's very difficult in Sicily and Italy because many of the restaurants close down some as early as 2:00 p.m, then open back up at 7:00. We did pass by a Lidl supermarket and we picked up some pastries.

Gorgeous countryside close to the vineyard that we would be sampling.

I learned that the vines in front that have turned yellow with the Fall are the white wine varieties.

Turning into the Vineyard was quite pretty.

Fake looking mountain in the background at quite a high elevation.

This was wine country for Sicily although there are vineyards all over the island and even on Mount Etna.

Some of the interesting countryside that we got to drive through. You can see the ancient bridge down below. There was never a boring time in the car, there is always something to marvel at.

Honestly probably the most breathtaking scenery in the world.

The countryside was gorgeous, absolutely stunning and then as we got closer to the winery where I booked the tour and the tastings, it was called Alessandro di Camporeale Vineyard. We noticed that there was this jagged Mountain in the background sticking up among the vineyards, pastures and orchards. It looked completely fake. It was just a stunning picture and the sunset was gorgeous as well.

This mountain looked completely fake. I zoomed in on this and it looks other-worldly.

Pretty sunset over the Alessandro di Camporeale Vineyard.

The red grape varieties turn red in the Fall like these above. The fake looking mountain is in the background.

Crops of something in the background.

I will name it Fake Rock.

We arrived and a young lady toured us around the vineyard and she was quite informational and I even learned some things, which I am always keen to do. Sicily has some endemic Vines/ grapes that grow nowhere else. We learned about those and we later toured the cellars, the tank areas, the labeling and the corking area and it was all very interesting and then we went upstairs to the Tasting Room.

Down in my happy place the large wine cellar of Alessandro di Camporeale.

The Red Wine Tanks.

The White Wine Tanks.

She gave us a choice of how many whites and how many reds, combination of five. We went with one white and four red and the white was excellent, it was a Catarratto grape and then the next red was good and that was a Nero d'Avola. Both of those are endemic to Sicily. I had been drinking Grillo whites all along and wanted to try something else, also native to Sicily. The third red was from their Mount Etna Vineyard which belongs to the sister of the family who owns this vineyard. Alessandro di Camporeale dates back to the early 1900s and both are organic vineyards. We didn't like the Mount Etna wine, which was a Croceferro grape, in fact Sandra and I could not drink it, it tasted and gave the appearance of a 'Corked' wine, which means it is off or bad. The 4th was a newer wine, a 2024 vintage of a Mandranova grape. That was good, better than the second, but the 5th was the best, it was a Syrah which is a very common grape grown in Sicily. That was our favorite and Garth and Sandra bought a bottle and it was 19 Euros which translates to around 31 bucks Canadian, it was pricey.

These were the 5 that we sampled.

All of the wines that are produced at the vineyard.

We drove back and it was downhill the whole way and the views were gorgeous of the surrounding area that was all lit up in the dark. We thought we would drive and if we found a restaurant or a Pizzeria open we would stop in Palermo and eat. We found an inexpensive restaurant and very local oriented with tons of people coming and going. Darren and I shared a margarita pizza for €7. Sandra and I had to use the washroom. We asked where it was and we got an escort through the kitchens and up the stairs and we were cold and it was lovely being back in the warm kitchens with all the pizza ovens heating up the place. Everyone was so friendly and one young man was very helpful in letting us know where the bathroom was and I asked if I could take his photo and he was all for it.

We needed an extra day in the city of Palermo because there are so many things to do and we parked nearby to the Ziza Palace a UNESCO World Heritage Site which was built for William the I by Muslim workers which began in 1157 as a Summer Palace to escape the heat. We found a parking space quite easily this time and we walked one minute to the Palace. It is a rectangular building and would have been quite grand in its day, with outer gardens, fountains and pools. It was 8 Euro to enter. When we entered we realized that it was under restoration. Many of the rooms could not be entered, but most importantly there was only one language which was Italian. We were told by the ticket lady that there was English to read which was not true. We walked in and out of that building gaining no extra information and we love history. That was completely annoying. We talked to the lady to get our money back. There was not much to see and nothing to read. We felt like we were just taken advantage of. It was a very disappointing UNESCO site. That was a first for me.

Original side entrance but guests would have arrived in the front

The Palace Gardens and fountains were quite extensive which you can see are almost to the top of the photo. There would have been water and a fountain running in this red fountain. You can see the main gate but it was partially boarded up. The wall surrounding the grounds was of beautiful continuous arches was also covered up and being restored.

Inside the Palace. It has been stripped down in the preparation of being restored.

I liked the engraving on this marble base.

Many pillars in the main room of the Palace.

An arabesque door original to the Palace.

You can see that the top section has been torn away and is currently being restored. The lower sections in the floor would have been the continuation of the fountains that ran outside, it would have all been interconnected to bring down the temperature of the Castle during the summer.

Once it is restored it will be fabulous.

We left the Palace and proceeded on to the Teatro Massimo which is a fairly new construction for Europe. It was built in the 1800s and it is a massive building. We walked down the whole side of it and it just kept going and going and there were tours inside but it was not old enough to strike my fancy. It would have been wonderful to see an opera while we were there but to see and hear the Opera, it was 56 Euro. That would have been about 92 CND for an Opera ticket but it was more about the drive in and out to the middle of Palermo and the Teatro.

Teatro Massimo

A beautiful building that needs some care. There are many in Sicily.

They have many different models of Smart Cars in Europe. This one was particularly ridiculous.

These were tall gates into Palermo called Porta Carini and have existed since 1310. They were quite grand and 3 stories high.

One of the many fruit and veg markets in Palermo. Sicily seems to be quite self-sufficient.

We walked to the Four corners or Piazza Vigliena which is cool but unusual. This was built to show the unity and prosperity under Spanish rule and created by the Spanish Viceroy. It represented the 4 Kings and it was built in the Baroque style and is highly decorative. Each of the concave facades represents a season.

We took some pictures and moved on to another Piazza and it was also being restored. There are tons of things being restored in this city which is good.

Churches and pretty buildings are everywhere in Palermo.

Under restoration this was a very fancy Piazza with countless statues.

You can rent a Bee Buggy in the background or a horse drawn carriage.

Graffiti rules in Europe. I am not sure why European leaders did not take a more appropriate and aggressive stance against graffiti?

We found a restaurant down a street with no cars. There was shopping and quite a few restaurants and this restaurant turned out to be a bit of a bust. Three of us had Calzones which were quite tasteless. Garth had a good Carbonara.

We then walked to the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Cathedral of Palermo which is a beautiful building on the outside which is a mish-mash of architectures. Everything from Norman to Arab to Byzantine influences are seen on the outside. Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque styles are reflected as well. What's interesting is when a new ruling country took over they didn't change or tear down what existed, they just added on to the Cathedral and made it more glorious.

The architecture of the Cathedral incorporated this once busy street.

Walking under the arches.

Interesting choice of one burgundy granite column above?

Arabesque ornate marble window frame.

Glorious doors all around the Cathedral.

Just a wee bit of decoration on the outside of the Cathedral.

This is in the back of the Cathedral which did not disappoint.

The towers were curved at the
bottom and gave the illusion
that they were leaning.

The inside of the church was quite pretty as all European churches are, but we wanted to walk on the roof line and the catwalks. That was closed down at 2:30 and we came out after that church at about 3:10, so we missed out on that and we walked back to our car, got in and went shopping at the grocery store to pick up groceries for some supper

Sicily is a contrast between glorious and in disrepair. This once beautiful lane way behind the administration area of the Cathedral which is now a Museum has been neglected. A bit of work and this could be spectacular.

A scaled down version of the Cathedral.

Inside the Cathedral. There were a few pounds of silver up at the altar.

Back at our rental, which never disappointed us with the views.

I had to comment on this situation that I have run across in several countries. There was a lady with a drugged up baby to the left of the entrance. I have seen this before in India and the Caribbean where women drug up babies to look pathetic and then they beg for money. This might not even be her baby. If I were police in this city, I would arrest her, deport her if she is not a citizen and take the baby into care. That child does not have a chance of a normal life with this woman and will most likely be an addict before they are two years old. I don't know why this is allowed?

We drove to Cefalu which was approximately just over an hour away down the coast. The views were quite incredible. Lots of crops and old abandoned castles and palazzos. We had a bit of a hard time finding a parking spot. Once again, it was low season, I can't imagine high season parking? We walked towards the centro of town where the medieval town area was and it was very nice, clean and beautiful. The Summer Palace of Roger II of Sicily was there and he would of had great sea views.

Beautiful Palace Door but needs some care and attention to bring it back to its glory.

Veggie Trucks are cool, we should get those.

Views are good from the historical center.

King Rogers Palace has been refurbished into something else.

Roger was made King of Sicily in 1130 and he initiated the building of the Cathedral of Cefalu.

A church that is 1/3 covered over by another building. Building codes apparently did not exist in medieval times.

The stairs up to another section of the old town.

Stairs, stairs everywhere. I already have a fetish for doors and now I think I have one for medieval stairs too.

The overhanging rock face in the background.

Vending machine room which I have never seen this sort of thing before. It was like a storefront but no door, just a doorway.

I adored this narrow lane with stairs.

These grapes looked good enough to eat.

Lovely walkway with original cobble stones.

Pretty building.

Walking in this old town was so enjoyable because you did not have to worry so much about traffic.

Another gorgeous stairwell to an upper level of the town.

This castle was on top of the rock outcropping. We were 'Rocked Out' and did not try and walk up to the Castle.

We continued walking towards the Cathedral of Cefalu another UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was a very pretty church with a lot of gold Mosaic and the strangest stained glass windows I've ever seen on a medieval church.

Sandra and I in front of the Cathedral.

The cobblestones on this road were so nice and orderly. This was the street that took us down to the UNESCO Cathedral.

The Cathedral built almost up against the rock.

Spectacular entryway with carved wooden doors and grand, engraved marble door frame.

Inside the church with gold galore.

That was about 100 pounds of silver right there.

Highly ornate carved marble by the tons.

The wood ceiling was pretty but the stain glass windows were odd and modern abstract which did not suit the 'Old' beauty of the Cathedral and they looked like a child had colored them. Apparently they were replaced in the 1980s.

Awful windows.

Lovely small door within the large doors.

We hung out there for a while and continued to make our way to explore the area. We found a good pasta restaurant and sat down and had lunch and I had a white Grillo which is the main white grape grown in Sicily.

My pasta was ok, once I added some Salt/Pepper and Parm to it. It was really bland and disappointing.

Pretty street with the Cathedral in the background.

Great view of the Sea.

Stray cats are everywhere. I am not sure if they encourage this to keep the mice down? I don't think so because there was a vending machine full of cat food where you could pay money and get the food and feed the strays.

Another church in Cefalu.

We continued walking our way down towards the beach and it was a very very windy day and normally on a calm day there is the a wide beach area in Cefalu and you can walk along it but this day was not safe to do that. So we made our way along the road and caught some pictures.

One of the several entryways to the beach.

Lovely old buildings in need of a nip and a tuck.

The pics of the beach would have been so pretty if the sun was shining.

This was right before it began to rain.

We eventually found our way to the Old Wash House where laundry women used to do laundry and it was there since medieval times and then they reconstructed it in 1571. It was a very interesting place, never seen anything quite like it before. It had crystal clear water in basins and it was in fact so clear. I moved to step down on the next step and stepped in 6 in of water because that's how clear it was. Much to my surprise, but we all had a good laugh. My foot was wet for the rest of the day and the bottom of my bell bottom pant was soaked.

Pretty blue slate stairs down to the original wash house. Notice how clear the water is that is covering the entire floor.

This was cool and I have
never seen an ancient
wash house before.

We continued walking and I had just said 'I feel like ice cream' and then boom, a Gelato place appeared and I had White Chocolate and Cherry and we made our way back to the car because it was starting to rain on us. We had a nice day walking around. We had plans to look around at the other little hilltop towns in the area but we ran out of time and it was raining.

On the boardwalk.

Pretty crops with the Sea behind.

Cefalu and the Cathedral Bell Towers in the background.

Cefalu is up against a large rock mountain.

We came back to our rental and relaxed.

The next day the Hubers wanted to go back to Cathedral of Monreale to see the Cloisters. We went to pick them up and join them for lunch. We thought we picked a really cool little place called Pizzeria Arte Toto in Monreale. The ambiance was excellent and very Shabby Chic.

The inside of this cool little restaurant.

Even the bathroom was decked out.

Darren ordered a Pizza and we ordered Pasta Carbonara. It came with Cannelloni pasta which is supposed to be served stuffed. It was incredibly awful and I still can't believe we paid for it. The red wine was decent at least. On this trip to mainland Italy and Sicily, the meals have overall been very disappointing. The pastas have been very bland and extremely underwhelming. Our last time to Italy we couldn't find a bad meal. This time we had only found a few restaurants that we liked the food. I make a great Fettuccine Carbonara and we had a great one in Ortigia but the one in Monreale was downright bad. It's so sad because you go to Italy for the food. We have heard from Sicilians that to get a good meal in Italy now you have to pay gourmet meal prices and this may be true now.

Sicilian countryside is amazingly beautiful and we will return some day and drive around the whole entire island.

Old Town fountain and water pump which is a couple tons of marble and should be refurbished which would make a nice welcome into Monreale.

Lower Monreale.

The Hubers in a great photo.

We drove to Lidl Supermarket to buy ingredients for a traditional Greek Salad. We knew this would taste good. We were tired of paying good money for poor meals.