4-day trip to Italy visiting Palermo, Monreale, Segesta, Erice and Selinunte
4-day trip to Italy visiting Palermo (Vigliena Square or Quattro Canti, San Giuseppe dei Teatini, Maqueda Street, Pretoria Square, Santa Maria dell’Ammiraglio o Martorana Church, Church of San Cataldo, Cathedral, Gardens of Villa Bonanno, Palace of the Normans, Palatine Chapel, St. John of the Hermits, Ballarò market, Vucciria market, Monte di Pietà (prawn shop), Seralcadio district, Il Capo market, Teatro Massimo, Castelnuovo square, Politeama Garibaldi theatre, Church of the Catena, Palazzo Chiaramonte (o Steri), Garibaldi garden, Palace of Zisa), Monreale ( San Martino church , Monreale cathedral, the cloister), Segesta, Erice, Selinunte
For us, people of the North, …. the best month to visit Palermo is January. We can experience an early spring, whereas for Palermitans (Palermo inhabitants ), however, it is the middle of winter . And, in fact, it was with surprise that we looked at them all dressed with scarves and woolen caps .
Vigliena square, Church of San Giovanni dei Teatini and Pretoria square
Piazza Vigliena (Vigliena Square)
PalermoChurch of Santa Maria dell’Ammiraglio
Nearby there is the beautiful church of Santa Maria dell’ Ammiraglio, commonly known as the “Martorana” with its elegant bell tower; the interior is enriched with wonderful mosaics.
Church of Santa Maria dell’Ammiraglio
PalermoChurch of San Cataldo
Church of San Cataldo
PalermoThe Cathedral
The large square in front makes the beautiful Cathedral even more majestic and the door, that overlooks it, has a very spectacular shape. The interior is enriched by imperial and royal tombs.
The Cathedral
PalermoGardens of Villa Bonanno and Palace of the Normans
“Palazzo dei Normanni” (Palace of the Normans)
PalermoThe gardens of Villa Bonanno, in front of the “Palazzo dei Normanni” (Palace of the Normans) are splendid. The palace is of Arabic origin and is not allowed to take pictures of the rooms . It would have been very interesting to document its beautiful Arabic rooms.
Palatine Chapel and “Enchanted Crip”
The Palatine Chapel is considered the most wonderful monument of the Norman period. There is a mosaic floor and rich marbles which decorate the walls whereas the ceiling is in Arabic style. Being January, in the Chapel it was exposed a magnificent glass crib executed by Murano artists, named ”Enchanted Crib”.
Palatine Chapel
PalermoSan Giovanni degli Eremiti and Ballarò market
Not far we visited the beautiful church of San Giovanni degli Eremiti (St. John of the Hermits) with its nice cloister and a beautiful garden . The roof is topped by five red domes.
Going back towards the city center, we walked along the streets full of stands of the Ballarò Market.
This market has substituted the classic “Vucciria” market.
San Giovanni degli Eremiti (St. John of the Hermits)
PalermoMonte di Pietà, Teatro Massimo, Church of Catena, Chiaramonte palace
The “Monte di Pietà” (pawn shop) , also known by the name of Seralcadio, is a historical district of Palermo. Nowadays it is instead known by the name “Il Capo” as the homonymous and historical market.
Then we found the Teatro Massimo (Greatest Theatre). One of the most famous opera houses in Italy.
Not far, there is Castelnuovo Square dominated by Politeama Garibaldi Theatre, surmounted by an imposing bronze chariot.
We went near the sea-shore to admire the beautiful Church of the Catena (Chain). The name of the church derives from the chain that was used to close the old port.
The Chiaramonte (or Steri) Palace is one of the finest examples of Sicilian medieval palace; I show its interior.
It must be mentioned, exhibited in a hall of the palace, the famous painting by Renato Guttuso : Vucciria.
I also want to show, in the opposite Garibaldi garden, the amazing centenarian magnolia.
Ricordo inoltre, nell’antistante giardino Garibaldi, la stupenda secolare magnolia.
Teatro Massimo (Greatest Theatre)
PalermoZisa, ancient Muslim palace
Not far from the town center there is the Zisa, an ancient Muslim palace, built by the Norman kings. It is decorated with lovely niches with a central fountain richly decorated.
Zisa Palace
Palermo“Barbaric” parks and free shots
Although we had been warned about the unruly way of parking, we were shocked to see the cars parked anywhere and everywhere.
“Barbaric” parks
PalermoMoreover, in our long wandering around the city, I was surprised by several curious things!
Curiosity
PalermoChurch of San Martino a Monreale, the Cathedral of Monreale
Monreale is dominated by the Church of St. Martin where is present the greatest majolica in the world.
The Cathedral of Monreale is especially known for the interior enriched with mosaics of great beauty while in the central apse we found an imposing Christ Pantocrator who dominates the scene.
The Cathedral
Monrealethe Cloister of the Cathedral of Monreale
Next to the cathedral there is the cloister with a beautiful fountain and numerous small columns; each column is unique and embellished with mosaics and rich capitals.
From the near lookout point, we enjoyed a magnificent view of Palermo Conca d’oro situated below .
We took advantage of those magnificent sunny days to visit the most important sites which could be reached and visited in a day’s journey: Segesta , Erice, Selinunte.
The Cloister
MonrealeArchaeological site of Segesta
The Temple of Segesta
SegestaThe solitary archaeological site of Segesta is very impressive even for the beautiful views of the countryside below .
The Temple, in excellent conditions, dominates with its elegance over a hill. Depending on the position of the sun, the temple changes its colour from pale pink to deep red .
High, on Mount Barbaro, there is a theatre dating back to the second century BC.
The theatre is not well preserved, but it is beautiful the view which we could admire of the Gulf of Castellammare.
Erice, on the top of the homonymous Mount
The Mount Erice, with its 750 meters height, dominates all around offering magnificent views of Trapani, the Egadi Islands and the beautiful sea.
The town is very charming as well as its medieval monuments.
The Village
EriceArcheological site of Selinunte
The archeological site of Selinunte is one of the most important in Sicily. It contains the ruins of a Greek city of the sixth century BC. It is possible to visit the oriental temples and the Acropolis.
Among the various temples , there are three that you can visit: one has huge dimensions (more than a football field ), the second is smaller and is badly preserved , whereas the third is very nice (in Doric style).
Our early spring came to an end.
We went back to Venice and found the usual cold, humidity, and Venetian fog (“caligo”).
Archeological site of Selinunte
Selinunte
Ignazio MarconiMy name is Ignazio and my motto is Travellingforever
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