Sicily Ib - Palermo e Isola di Ustica - April 2023

In a long line for security at the The Palazzo dei Normanni/Royal Palace of Palermo because since 1946 it has also housed the Sicilian Regional Assembly.

The Palazzo “was the seat of the Kings of Sicily with the Hauteville (Norman) dynasty and served afterwards as the main seat of power for the subsequent rulers of Sicily.’

Greek influences.

Jewish influences.

Moorish influences. The wooden, carved, roof is reminiscent of the Alhambra in Granada, Spain.

Exterior of the Sicilian Regional Assembly/ Palazzo dei Normanni.

The start of an excellent lunch: Maki du melanza con purea di grana. - Sicilian style eggplant maki served with a grana purée & a caprese salad. The 7.7 ABV Ceres beer was delicious but revealed to be brewed in Denmark.

Aperol spritz is a traditional Italian drink.

Some well-behaved teenagers sat down near us. Vaping is big amongst the teens.

Business on a balcony.

The Praetorian Palace & the Fontana Pretoria.

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Segreti del chiostro - Dolci delle antiche della monache - Monasterio di Santa Caterina D'Alessnadria - Segreti del chiostro -Secrets of the cloister - Sweets of the nuns of the ancients - Monastery of Santa Caterina D'Alessnadria.

Sweets of the Nuns of the Ancients - Monastery of Santa Caterina D'Alessnadria.

A super cannoli in the courtyard of Sweets of the nuns of the ancients - Monastery of Santa Caterina D'Alessnadria.

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Anti Mafia tour with Valeria. This tour was recommended by Kit. It was worth it, especially for a different view of Palermo & the Mafia from a thirty-something-year- old’s viewpoint & experience.

“In 2003, a group of young Palermitans in their efforts to open a small business was approached to pay the pizzo (protection money) and decided that it was time to change the status quo by organizing entrepreneurs together to refuse to pay the pizzo…within a couple of years they had about 100 businesses on their side. Their number has increased ten-fold (although still a small percentage of all businesses). The organization called itself Addiopizzo, and in addition to supporting businesses who resist the Mafia influence by means such as encouraging customers and assistance in filing police reports of extortion attempts, they also now run anti-Mafia tours.”

An over block long mural depicting people murdered by the mafia.

Street alters are frequently encountered. They are a vestige of when the Spanish controlled Sicily.

Note the mix of languages.

Valeria walked us through some grittier neighborhoods.

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In this plaza there are a series of pillars related to the decline of the Mafia. Note the building behind. It was probably constructed by Mafia folks using substandard materials.

Letizia Battaglia was a photographer who documented Mafia atrocities.

The coffee shop CASA STAGNITTA -SORSI E MORSI DI CAFFÉ (SIPS AND BITES OF COFFEE) was started by her first husband’s family. We returned the following day.

Some of her photos were displayed outside the shop.

Ceramic pine cones, in different sizes & colors were on balconies, window sills, in entrances & available for purchase in shops all over Sicily. They are a symbol of prosperity.

Valeria took us to a cafe that displayed the sign that they do not pay pizzo.

We tried the Sicilian semi-frozen dessert, granita. Sweet, delicious & refreshing…

…on a hot day.

Valeria, our anti-Mafia guide.

Not the best dinner we had but great people watching.

Fruit selection for colazione (breakfast) in the Hotel Opera Palace.

Colazione in the Hotel Opera Palace.

With so many colzioni in the Hotel Opera Plaza - Osservatorio Rooftop I started noticing interesting things.

From the Hotel Opera Plaza - Osservatorio Rooftop.

Note the light tan second building falling apart because of substandard materials.

The c. 1928-’33 Castello Utveggio. Originally built as a hotel it’s now a government run business management school.

From the From Hotel Opera Plaza - Osservatorio Rooftop.

Hotel Plaza Opera.

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Port of Palermo, an important cruise & cargo port.

Port of Palermo.

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Isola di Ustica from the hydrofoil ferry. A little over 1.5 hour journey from Palermo across the Tyrrhenian Sea.

The windows of the ferry were not very clean.

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Things to do in Ustica. Swim or dive in the crystal clear waters.

See the sites.

The hydrofoil that ferried us to Ustica & back to Palermo.

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In the piazza there were lamp posts like we saw in Palermo.

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Ustica is also known for murals.

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Most home doorways were just covered by a curtain.

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We started a hike but it was too darn hot so we indulged in another attraction of Ustica, finding a good place to eat. There were very few tourists.

At the ferry office , we arranged for an earlier return ferry. The Latvian woman there tried to send us to a restaurant. There was a problem with language & we ended up at this taverna. Not what we had in mind.

Then we found Carpe Diem overlooking the harbor.

The best appetizers ever; huge capers, delicious olives & pickled garlic. Then a caprese salad & the best fish sandwich.

€ 8.00:

“Mackerel in oil, charcoal-cooked oil, lettuce, liquid lemon granita, bruschetta tomato, raw onion, a little mayonnaise. Nb: the sandwich is served cold.”

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Back at the Port of Palermo in time for an espresso.

But first to explore the harbor.

"La Cala, Palermo’s yacht harbour and marina, for which Carta won the International Biennial of Architecture prize in 2015 for his regeneration scheme."