Sicily Guide

14 museums are open through midnight this coming Saturday and also free to the public. Here is the list of the museums:

Civica Galleria d’arte moderna “Empedocle Restivo”
Museo del Mare all’Arsenale Borbonico
Museo Mormino di Villa Zito
Società siciliana di Storia patria
Museo internazionale delle Marionette “Antonio Pasqualino”
Museo della Specola
Museo Diocesano
Archivio storico comunale
Archivio di Stato (sede della Gancia)
Museo di Mineralogia
Palazzo Chiaramonte (Steri)
Museo del vino e della civiltà contadina
Museo paleontologico Gemmellaro
Museo Collezionarea

According to Goal.com, Palermo president Maurizio Zamparini is tempting Europe’s big spenders to come out and try to lure Amauri away from the Renzo Barbera.

After spending the last few months trying to play down talk of a transfer for the Brazilian, Zamparini now appears to be fanning flames by claiming he will not stand in the striker’s way.

Chelsea, Liverpool, Barcelona and Real Madrid Juventus and Milan have all been linked to the 27-year-old, who has scored nine goals this season and has been a revelation since arriving at the Sicilian club from Chievo Verona in 2006.

Zamparini stuck a €25 million (£18 million) price tag on Amauri’s head, and then told chasing clubs he will operate on a first come first served basis.

The Palermo chief has already pulled a similar stunt during the January transfer window when he told La Gazzetta Dello Sport: “Amauri will go to the highest bidder.”

Read more at Goal.com

Palermo offers La Via dei Tesori to the public: convents, buildings, gardens usually closed will stay open for a month.

Here is the list of the places:

1- Botanico

2- B. Museo Doderlein

3- C. Palazzo Steri

4- D. Cappella S. Giuseppe dei Falegnami

5- E. Museo Gemmellaro

6- F. Museo di Radiologia

7- G. Collezione di Ingegneria

8- H. Cripta delle Repentite

9- I. Convento di S. Antonino

10- J. Aereo G59

11- K. Carcere dei Penitenziati

12- L. Osservatorio Astronomico

13- M. Fossa della Garofala

14- N. Hotel de France

Map
Photo Gallery
Official Site (italian only)

Technorati Tags [ sicily | la via dei tesori | palermo | museo doderlein | botanico | palazzo steri | cappella s. giuseppe | museo gemellaro | museo di radiologia | hotel de france ]

I do not follow soccer (except for the World Cup and the Euro Cup), but news like this makes me happy.

A last minute winner from Fabrizio Miccoli sent AC Milan to their first defeat of the season as they crashed to a 2-1 loss away to Palermo on Wednesday.

Read more at Sportbox.tv

Technorati Tags [ Palermo | AC Milan | Sicily | Soccer ]

Hapimag, a Swiss tour operator, took on a holiday resort in Cefalù (Palermo) on the northern coast of Sicily. The resort will first be available as a supplementary accommodation with a fixed allocation of 30 apartments.

About 5 km away from the attractive little town of Cefalù, the resort is ideal for excursions to discover picturesque landscapes, excavations of ancient sites and the impressive nature. The resort has a total of over 149 completely equipped apartments. The two-storey buildings are nestled in a combe that slopes down towards the sea. The site is surrounded by extensive greenery.

Read more

Technorati Tags [ sicily | gli Aranceti di Cefalù | hapimag | resort in sicily ]

I do not recall ever seeing it while living in Sicily, but manna is not falling from the sky. According to an article of ABC News online, manna can be found in a remote corner of Sicily and actually drips from the ash tree. When exposed to the hot summer sun of Sicily, this Italian variety of maple syrup solidifies into white stalactites of spongy sugar.

Manna, to most people — if they have heard of it at all — means a windfall, an unexpected gift from heaven. Others recognize it from the Bible as the food sent by God to feed the Hebrews during their 40 years in the desert, a sort of hoarfrost that fell on the land at night and was collected, milled and baked into small loaves of the bread.

Mario Cicero, the mayor of Castelbuono, was listing the cultural and historical attractions of his small town near Palermo, when he told ABC News, “And then, of course, we have manna!”

Of course.

When queried further he pointed down the road to a small shop that sells herbs and local produce on the main street of Castelbuono. It’s run by Giulio Gelardi, the local manna expert and president of the manna presidium of Italy’s Slow Food Movement, which supports the country’s local food heritage.

Read more

Technorati Tags [ manna | sicily | giulio gelardi | castelbuono | slow food | palermo | mario cicero ]

Among my favorite art places in Sicily is Palazzo Abatellis, the regional art gallery. This old building, in serious need of restoration, was designed by Carnalivari at the end of the 15th century as the residence of Francesco Abatellis, harbormaster of the Kingdom of the two Sicilies. The palace is one of the most significant Gothic-Catalan architectonic samples in Western Sicily. Its gallery features sculptures and paintings from the 12th to the 18th century. On the first floor, stop and admire the Triumph of Death fresco. If you look at it, the Guernica by Picasso will come to mind suddenly. On the second floor, the Annunciation by Antonello da Messina is the highlight. Last year, this artwork and a few other pieces by Antonello da Messina were exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum in New York and I was able to admire the Annunciation and I was in line among the very first visitors when the exhibition opened. If you are in Palermo, Palazzo Abatellis is definitely a must-see!

Highlights: the Triumph of Death fresco; the Annunciation by Antonello da Messina; The Malvagna Triptych by Mabuse; fine collection of statues by Antonello Gagini and Francesco Laurana.

Address:
Via Alloro 4, Palermo
 
Tel.: (091) 616 43 17
Fax: (091) 617 21 87

General Information
Mon., Wed., Fri. & Sat.: 9:00am-1:30pm; Tue. & Thu. : 9:00am-1:30pm; 3:00pm-7:30pm; Sun.: 9:00am-1:00pm
Duration of visit: 1 to 2 hours
Entrance: € 4.50

I am Sicilian, but I got to know Palermo only after my graduation from university in Italy. I landed a job through Elder Hostel/Trinity College Connecticut programs in Sicily. Ironically, I started it on May 1, Labor Day for Italy and most of the world. Considering the extremely high unemployment rate in Italy, I thought it was a good way to celebrate Labor Day.

In Palermo, I met the best guides you wish to have: Marcella Croce and Giovanni Matranga. Through their Palermitan eyes, I got to learn a great deal about the city. In spite all the stereotypes that Palermo might recall and the bad stories that took place there, I never felt threatened or unsafe. Actually, I felt challenged to grasp as much as I could about its majestic past. Palermo is rich in history and cultural heritage as just a few other cities. It is a medium-size city with about 800,000 inhabitants and boasts a big amount of monuments of different periods.

Palermo is a collection of historic highlights. These are the ten best places that you should not miss if you visit the city:

1. Monreale Cathedral
   Monreale Cathedral is the greatest of all the monuments to the wealth and artistic taste of the Norman kings in northern Sicily. Founded around 1170 by William II, and dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, the church was elevated to the rank of a metropolitan cathedral in 1182. The outside of the Arab-Norman cathedral is plain, except the aisle walls and three eastern apses, which are decorated with intersecting pointed arches and other ornaments inlaid in marble. The archiepiscopal palace and monastic buildings on the south side were of great size and magnificence, and were surrounded by a massive precinct wall, crowned at intervals by twelve towers. This has been mostly rebuilt, but little now remains except ruins of some of the towers, a great part of the monks’ dormitory and frater, and the splendid cloister, completed about 1200.Highlights: The tomb of William I of Sicily; the cloister.Address: Via Rizzo/Via Paradiso
   Monreale (Pa)
   
   Tel.: (0931) 662 06
2. Palatine Chapel
   The Palatine Chapel is the royal chapel of the Norman kings of Sicily situated on the ground floor at the center of the Palazzo Reale in Palermo. The chapel was commissioned by Roger II of Sicily in 1132. It took eight years to build and many more to decorate with mosaics and fine art. The sanctuary, dedicated to Saint Peter, is reminiscent of a domed basilica. It has three apses, as is usual in Byzantine architecture, with six pointed arches (three on each side of the central nave) resting on recycled classical columns.Highlights: Carolingian throne; Christ Pantocreator in the cupola; the Angels surrounding Christ and the Evangelists.Address: Palazzo dei Normanni, Piazza Indipendenza
   
   Tel.: (091) 705 60 01
3. Galleria Regionale di Sicilia - Palazzo Abatellis
   The building was designed by Carnalivari at the end of the 15th century as the residence of Francesco Abatellis, harbormaster of the Kingdom of the two Sicilies. The palace is one of the most significant Gothic-Catalan architectonic samples in Western Sicily. Its gallery features sculptures and paintings from the 12th to the 18th century.Highlights: the Triumph of Death fresco; the Annunciation by Antonello da Messina; The Malvagna Triptych by Mabuse; fine collection of statues by Antonello Gagini and Francesco Laurana.Address: Via Alloro 4
   
   Tel.: (091) 616 43 17
   Fax: (091) 617 21 87
4. Museo Archeologico Regionale “Antonino Salinas”
   Housed in a 17th century monastery, the museum boasts the various artistic periods and civilizations of Western Sicily from prehistory to the late Roman period. The small entrance of the museum leads to a cloister which, divided into three rooms at the end, displays magnificent pieces from the nearby archeological site of Selinunte.Highlights: treasures from the archeological excavations of Selinunte.Address: Piazza Olivella
   
   Tel.: (091) 662 02 20
   Fax: (091) 611 07 40
5. Martorana
   The famous Greek admiral George of Antiochia commissioned the church in 1143, which it was completed in 1151. After the Sicilian Vespers of 1282, the island’s nobility gathered in the church for a meeting that resulted in the Sicilian crown being offered to Peter III of Aragon. The common name La Martorana originated under King Alfonso of Aragon, who in 1436 assigned the church to the nuns of a Benedictine convent established in 1194 by Eloisa Martorana. The nuns extensively modified the church between the 16th century and the 18th century, making major changes to the structure and interior decoration. The nuns of the Martorana were famous for their molded marzipan, which they made in the form of various fruits. Although the convent no longer exists, frutta di Martorana are still one of Palermo’s most famous and distinctive foodstuffs.Address: Piazza Bellini 3, Kalsa
   
   Tel.: (091) 616 16 92
   
   
6. San Giovanni degli Eremiti
   Built on the will of Roger II between 1130 and 1148, the church is famous for the typical Arabian-Fatimite red domes. These round domes, representing the sky, (placed upon quadrangular towers, representing the Earth) make it one of the most well-known symbols of Palermo. The building is surrounded by a garden, rich in exotic colors and smells such as those of jasmine, oranges and pomegranates; it also features a small cloister.Highlights: domes; cloister.Address: Via dei Benedettini
   
   Tel.: (091) 651 50 19
7. Cathedral
   The church was erected in 1185 by Walter Ophamil (or Walter of the Mill), the Anglo-Norman archbishop of Palermo and King William II’s minister, on the area of an earlier Byzantine basilica. By all accounts this earlier church was founded by St. Gregory and was later turned into a mosque by the Saracens after their conquest of the city in the 9th century. Ophamil is buried in a sarcophagus in the church’s crypt. The medieval edifice had a basilica plan with three apses, of which only some minor architectural elements survive today.Highlights: dome and part of the apse of the Cathedral of Palermo; main façade; sarcophagus of Frederick II of Hohenstaufen; the Baroque small side cupolas by Ferdinando Fuga; the famous portico by Domenico and Antonello Gagini; the 1466 Gothic-Catalan style wooden choir and the marble remains of the Gagini’s retable (removed during 18th century alterations) are also precious, as well as a marble statue of the Madonna with Child by Francesco Laurana and pupils.Address: Corso Vittorio Emanuele
   
   Tel.: (091) 33 43 73
8. Antica Focacceria San Francesco
   At the Antica Focacceria San Francesco, a local favorite since 1834 (in the Palazzo Reale/Monte di Pietà district), they sell focaccia farcita (flat pizza-dough baked with different toppings), arancini di riso, torte salate (savoury “cake”), panelle, fried ricotta cheese, and sfincione.Address: Via A. Paternostro, 58
   
   Tel.: (091) 32 02 64
   Fax: (091) 612 88 55
9. Mondello
   North of Palermo, Mondello is the resort area of the city. On weekends, it is packed with people and traffic, but this is part of its charm. Mondello boasts a public beach and numerous fish restaurants. Walk around its streets and order pane e panelle (bread with chickpea flour fritters) or a slice of sfincione (a typical Palermintan pizza with lots of garlic on it) from some fast food chains or street vendors, you will experience life like a Palermitan!
10. Teatro Massimo
    The Teatro Massimo Vittorio Emanuele is an opera house located on the Piazza Verdi in Palermo, Sicily. It was dedicated to King Victor Emanuel II. The opera house was built by architect Giovanni Battista Filippo Basile and, following his death in 1891, construction was overseen by his son Ernesto. Construction started on January 12, 1874 but was stopped for eight years from 1882 until 1890. Finally, on May 16, 1897, twenty-two years after the laying of the foundation stone, the second largest opera theater after Palais Garnier in Paris was inaugurated with a performance of Verdi’s Falstaff.The Teatro Massimo is the largest theater in Italy (and the third largest opera house in Europe). Basile was inspired by ancient and classical Sicilian architecture and, thus, the exterior was designed in the high neoclassical style incorporating elements of the Greek temples at Selinute and Agrigento. Realized in the late-Renaissance style, the auditorium was planned for 3,000 people, but, in its current format, it seats 1,400, with 7 tiers of boxes rising up around an inclined stage and shaped in the typical horseshoe style.In 1974, the house was closed for renovations required by updated safety regulations. It remained closed for twenty-three years due the factors including costs over-runs, corruption and political debate. But finally it re-opened on May 12, 1997, four days before its centenary. The opera season started again in 1999, although Verdi’s Aida was performed in 1998 while work in progress continued.Address: Piazza Verdi
    
    Tel.: (091) 605 31 11

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Technorati Tags [ palermo | monreale cathedral | palatine chapel | teatro massimo | mondello | antica focacceria san francesco | martorana | sfincione | pane e panelle ]