Il nostro anno italiano: Palermo

Last installment of the Great Southern Italy Tour:-)

When Carmen's nephew Michael Murphy heard that we were going to Sicily, he insisted that we hook up with his second cousin-in-law, Liana D'Accardio who lives in Palermo. We are so glad we did! We got in touch with Liana, who very much wanted to take us on a tour of her city.

Carmen and Liana

Carmen had never met Liana before, so we felt funny about imposing on a total stranger. Not to worry, we were treated as family. We met Liana a few blocks from our hotel. To find each other, the clue was: red jackets;-) We then started on a walking tour.

Our first stop was a nearby major intersection distinguished by nearly identical buildings with concave facades at the four corners. The arrangement results in the sun shining progressively on all four facades during the day. My impression is that the style of the statuary and decorations is distinctly Sicilian, as is the closeup of the gargoyle below.

Just around the corner was the Piazza Bellini with the Fontana Pretoria and two churches. The fontana has a profusion of statues. You can imagine them talking to each other...

The two churches next to the piazza offer an interesting contrast.

Chiesa Santa Maria dell'Ammiraglio, informally La Martorana (left), commissioned by a Greek admiral in the service of the King of Sicily in 1143, has a strong Byzantine influence. Another admiral, a Norman, wanted a church more to his culture's tastes so he commissioned the Chiesa di San Cataldo (right) in 1160. The interior of San Cataldo is severe to an extreme. The interior of La Martorana is anything but--every surface is painted with images and decorations. Gold paint was used extensively. Behold Carmen's photographic feast for the eyes:

the altar

Liana invited us to lunch at her apartment, and we drove over to her local district in town. We walked with her to the fruit and vegetable stand and individual shops where she bought bread, lunch meats, cheese, and pastries, at each stop chatting with neighbors and introducing us. We could sense a buzz spreading around the little piazza, and by the time we got to her apartment, other neighbors were greeting her with "Ciao Liana, we hear you have two visitors from America." It was a wonderful old-world village experience that you just can't plan or buy.

Liana's mother-in-law Teresa joined us for lunch. She had visited the relatives in the U.S. and we talked with her about meeting them. It was by far our longest conversation in our rudimentary Italian.