A Day Out

The next day, Claudio gave me a ride on the back of his scooter over to Palazzo dei Normanni (Palace of the Normans).  Claudio told me to ask for Alessandra at the ticket office, and then tell her I am friends with Mauritzio.  I did, and got a free entrance ticket.  Woo hoo!

The fortress was rebuilt by the Arabs in the Ninth Century and was known by the Arabic name, Càssaro (which now refers to an area of Palermo). An ancient Punic-Roman stronghold on the site became foundations for the new castle.

The Normans, under Roger II embellished it; he had the beautiful Capella Palatina (The Palace Chapel) dedicated to St. Peter built in the castle, and summoned Arab and Byzantine artists to decorate it.

The Palatine

Courtroom

State rooms.

After I finished the tour of the palace, I wandered through Palermo back the the B&B to meet up with Claudio.

The old gate

Fontana Pretoria or fountain of Shame (Fontana della Vergogna). 

Fontana Pretoria or fountain of Shame (Fontana della Vergogna). 

As I walked through the town I happened upon this fountain in Piazza Pretoria. It is the work of Florentine sculptor Francesco Camilliani in 1555.  It is filled with depictions of allegories, animal heads, nymphs, monsters, ornamental staircases and balustrades, and gods and goddesses of Mount Olympus.

When the fountain was first unveiled on 1575, there was a huge public outcry.  The sculpture was was intended for a private Florentine villa; not a public square.  It had been moved to Palermo, after being dismantled into 644 pieces, to showcase its waterworks system, which rivaled Messina's. The Palermitans learned to live with it, although it was forever afterward referred to as  Fontana della Vergogna, or "Fountain of Shame."

Quattro Canti

Quattro Canti is a Baroque square that was laid out on the orders of the Viceroys between 1608-1620 at the crossing of the two principla streets in Palermo, the Via Maqueda and the Corso Vittorio Emanuele.  It depicts the four seasons, the four Spanish kings of Sicily, and the Patronesses of Palermo.  At the time the piazza was built, it was one of the first major examples of town planning in Europe.

This architecture is similar to that of Alexandria, Egypt and Malta.

 At last, I made it back to the B&B where Claudio was waiting for me with his scooter and some beach gear.  Off we went to Mondello Beach.  The water was crystal clear and the weather unseasonable warm for October.  Some poor lady lost a bracelet and we watched about 8 people comb the sand until it was found about an hour later.  Don't wear jewelry to the beach people!!

After we finished with the beach, we took a late afternoon drive out to Mount Pellegrino. The mountain is not related San Pellegrino water, a naturally carbonated water produced for more than 600 years, is from San Pellegrino in the north of Italy.

Looking back from the scooter on our way to the mountain.

WWII turret.

A dramatic view of Mt. Pellegrino

Cruise ship heading to Sardinia.

 Smiley face on the right!

 Pasta dinner with some kind of fish egg seasoning.  Sounds gross, but it was very tasty!

 The fish that was gifted to us the night before.

 Just a bit of slat and pepper; turned out great!