Pictures from Palermo

38° 7′ 19.992” N 13° 22′ 13.728” E

April 16th
Palermo is a diverse, worn out, lively and totally charming city. It is said about this city, that where Rome and Florence push their cultural treasures directly on to the minds of the tourists, Palermo is a city where the visitor himself has to discover and experience the city’s numerous cultural treasures.

Lavishly decorated churches, palaces, fountains, theaters and a nothing less than magnificent opera-house appear here and there in an otherwise rather worn cityscape. Especially for Palermo, the city has been occupied by Greeks, Romans, Arabs and Normans throughout its history, and these cultures have each had a few hundred years to put their mark on the city. The result is a very interesting architectural cocktail.

Commercial life ranges from fashionable shopping streets with the usual Gucci bags and Rolex watches to much more humble market streets, where the crisp scent of fish, freshly slaughtered sheep, spices and fruit blends with the sound of fiery scooters and street traders loudly shouting out the offer of the day. And at the same time Palermo still has streets, where crafts cling together side by side – the street of bicycle repair shops, the street of silversmiths etc.

The Mafia – Sicily’s Cosa Nostra – is not to be noticed anywhere. Maybe they are today dressed up in needle-stripped habits being contend to conduct activities in property management and build contracting?

For 16 days Ronja has been in Marina Galizzi. Skipper Per has been in Denmark to attend some board meetings and do some lectures on his recently published book on journalism in the future, and in the meantime Kirsten has “held court” aboard Ronja with alternating guests from Denmark – daughter Emilie and girlfriends Hanne and Anne.

At the same floating bridge in Marina Galizzi are two other Danes, Sten and Rosemarie, with their lovely sailboat, a Southerly 110, Troldand, www.troldand.dk. Sten and Rosemarie are Mediterranean veterans. They have had their boat on land in Palermo during the winter and have spent a total of two months in the city, so they generously pour out their knowledge of Palermo. They guide us, show us the most beautiful churches, the exciting hand shoemaker, the nicest restaurants and even take us to the opera to Bellinis “I Puritani”.

They are themselves on their way home to Denmark after eight years in the Mediterranean, while we at Ronja are still heading out in the world. We switch charts, guidebooks and listen greedily to their numerous sailing tips from Greece, Albania, Montenegro, Croatia, Spain and Marocco.

Bonus info: Palermo is worth considering as a winter port. Prices for storage are reasonable (we have the prices). You can come to and from the airport by bus for six euros in 45 minutes. However, the flight time is long and usually having several stops. The price for a berth in the water outside high season is officially 65 euros per night, but the price is – as always in Italy – up for negotiation. For a larger number of nights, we have heard of prices closer to one third of the 65 euros

EASTER IN PALERMO: Good Friday in Palermo is marked with several major marches that slowly move through the city under the weight of apparent very heavy relics of Christ and Virgin Mary, with historic dresses, incense and accompanied by sad music, as if it was a funeral procession for a Mafia boss in New Orleans.

PALERMOS MANY CHURCHES: They have churches everywhere in Palermo, and in the churches, we find the clear traces of the city’s changing powers. Roman, Arabic, Byzantine and Norman decor – sometimes even interfering with one another in one church. We think the most interesting churches are the cathedral in Monreale, the Palatine church in the royal palace and chiesa di Jesús right in the city center. But look for yourself at these pictures.