We met Guisi at 8:45AM (a civil time) to begin our tour of Palermo. Our hotel is located about 100 feet from the intersection of the two major streets of Palermo. As I mentioned both streets are pedestrian only in this part of the city so walking is easy. It is also at the intersection called “Quattro Canti” (four corners) which marks the division of the city into 4 neighborhoods. Each of the corners of the square contains a statue representing one of the four seasons and a water fountain. Guisi explained the meaning of the edifices before turning our attention to the famous “fountain of shame” located around the corner from the square. It is one of the few Renaissance works located in the city and dates back to 1555. When placed here it aroused the ire of the religious living in the nearby convent as many of the statues portrayed made figures. The nuns initially tired covering the statues with clothes and when that that did not work they damaged the statues with chisel and hammer. The city fathers had to erect a fence around the fountain, which still remains there today.

In the area around the fountain are three churches, one of which (Santa Caterina) we toured yesterday. Today we visited the La Martorana church which dates back to the 12th century. The church is famous for its Byzantine-Norman mosaics. There was a mass occurring so we could not go in as a group; we went in to see the mosaics a few people at a time. Guisi told us the nuns still make/sell cannoli from the nearby church but unfortunately not until later in the day. Bummer!

From here we had to walk a few blocks to exit the pedestrian zone to meet our driver and transportation van for the trip. It turned out to be a marvelous new Mercedes 19 passenger van so there would be plenty of room to move around. Andre is our driver and over the next few days his experience and expertise proved valuable. Surprisingly we were told we had to wear masks while on board. Prior to this we saw virtually no masks on people inside or outside. Oh well, when in Rome…

We were driven to a famous landmark, the Palantine Chapel in the Norman Palace. It is a mixture of Byzantine, Norman and Fatimid styles and was completed in 1143. What makes it so famous are the mosaics that covers its walls and ceiling. The ceiling is especially unique; it is made in the muqarnas style (three dimensional painted wood sections), which is Islamic in nature and style. I had never seen one like it in any of the many churches I had been in. The church elicits many oohs and aahs when viewed. The rest of the palace is now the home of the legislature.

Next stop was a short walk away to the Ballaro street market, one of the three that dot the city. It is bigger than the one we walked through yesterday but with similar products. The purpose of our visit was to sample a Sicilian street food lunch. Sitting on plastic chairs around beat up tables in an alley we were treated to arancini (fried rice balls stuffed with meat), Sicilian pizza (thicker bread with tomato sauce), thin  fried chickpea bread, and potato coquettes. I liked the arancini the best.

After lunch we drove about thirty minutes to the nearby town on Monreale to see another church that would supposedly make the Palatine Chapel look rather mundane,    the Monreale Cathedral. The church is an exquisite example of Norman architecture and was consecrated in 1182. It is considered to be one of the most important attractions in Sicily. Again it is a combination of Byzantine, Norman and Arab elements in a Romanesque building. What is important to know is that in those times the “new” rulers of the land accepted and embraced the cultures of those who proceeded them in ruling the area-an uncommon practice. So we get the blending of cultures we see in churches such as this one.

By the time we returned to our hotel we had walked 12,136 steps and Yvonne cried “uncle” and proceeded to start her eventual 12 hours of uninterrupted sleep while Gerry, Sue and I went out for dinner. It was indeed a very busy first day!