It seems that Palermo is a city that needs a lot of protection.  As we have told you on another occasion, before Saint Rosalia, Palermo had no more and no less than four protector Saints, Saint Oliva, Saint Ninfa, Saint Agatha and Saint Cristina, represented in the Quattro Canti. Then, Saint Rosalia saved Palermo from the plague and became the only Saint and Patron of the city.  "Only" religiously speaking, because the city has another lay protector, this time male and much older than Santa Rosalia.  He is the Genius of Palermo. If you've passed by piazza Rivoluzione you've pr ..read more

    This green park is called Parco della Favorita, but more than a park it looks like a forest. You won't come across it if you walk through the city center, because Palermo's green lung is on the way to Mondello beach.  Larger than New York's Central Park, it was created by King Ferdinand IV of Bourbon as a hunting ground in 1799, an activity of which he was very fond. So, in this park where today you can run, walk or hide from the heat with a picnic, in the Eighteenth century used to be full of pheasants and rabbits and hunts were organized for the King’s pleasure.   ..read more

Refreshing instructions for eating ice cream with brioche  The best way to combat the Sicilian heat is with an ice cream, un gelato. But in Sicily things are not that simple, there is no such thing as "an ice cream" and that's it.  To enter a gelato shop is to enter a new universe full of possibilities in which you will have to make some of the hardest decisions of your life.  The first will be to decide whether you want gelato or granita.  Let's say you go for gelato.  Then, to the classic decision between cone or coppetta, in Sicily a majestic third option is added ..read more

Caffé Stagnitta is one of the oldest cafés in Palermo, in 2022 it celebrated a century of life. Although it was originally located in Piazza Venezia, it has been in its current location in Discesa dei Giudici, in the heart of the historic center, since 1931. In addition to Coffee house, it is also a store and roastery, so they also roast and sell their own coffee blends. In fact, it is precisely a coffee blend to give it its name. "Ideal", was their first blend and Stagnitta the surname of the family that created it and has been running the roastery for four generations. But the fact that th ..read more

Corso Vittorio Emanuele is the long avenue that divides Palermo in two and ends at a large stone gate, Porta Felice. Crossing it you will find the Foro Italico with its sea views. But if instead of crossing it you look at the stairs right next to Porta Felice you can climb them, go through an iron gate and walk along what were originally the city walls. You will be walking on the Mure delle Cattive. If you know any Italian, you'll know that “cattive” is the feminine plural of "cattiva" which means bad. So yes, you are on the "wall of bad women". Don't think this is a typo, the sign han ..read more

Sferracavallo is a small seaside neighborhood just over fifteen minutes from Palermo by car. But if you don't have one, don't worry, because you can also reach it by train. Historically a fishermen's neighborhood, it is still today. You can see fishermen with their cane and also with their boat. In the small harbor you can see the boats moored, which go out to fish depending on the prey, at dawn or dusk. Also, you can find the shipyards repairing the boats and those that cannot be repaired are "parked" in the streets. Many Palermitans come to spend Sunday in Sferracavallo, especially to eat f ..read more

This year marks the 399th Festino of Santa Rosalia, the patron saint of Palermo, or in Sicilian u fistinu, to remember the moment when the Saint saved the city from the plague. Much loved by the Palermitans, who affectionately call her the Santuzza, the city is full of votive altars dedicated to her and even some graffiti or other street art display that modernizes her image. However Rosalia was not always the patron saint of Palermo, in fact it was this miracle that made her the sole and absolute patron saint, ousting all the others. Yes, “others” in plural. Because, strangely enough, Paler ..read more

If one day you have the opportunity to do your shopping in any Palermo’s market, you will notice that in the paper in which they wrap your meat or vegetables, you almost always will find a nice detail: a drawing, a phrase, a thank you...        But inevitably after emptying the purchase, you throw it away. Instead, Carmela and Giulia thought they could give a much longer and creative second life to these wrappers that tell a part of the history of Palermo’s historic markets. And so, they created Edizione Precarie and decided to turn the paper used to wrap and protect foo ..read more

Few cities are as fortunate as Palermo to have a sea like that of Mondello at such a short distance. Every Palermitan has a little bit of Mondello in their childhood memories, and they will spend hours and hours comparing the water of Mondello to that of the Maldives, talking about its turquoise blue reflections and its fine white sand. With this image anyone could think that a little more than a hundred years ago the Gulf of Mondello was home to a large mephitic swamp, until 1891 when the recovery began and also its territorial and urban transformation. From a swampy terrain Mondello became ..read more

As soon as you set foot in Palermo you will immediately realize that, along with Italian, the Sicilians also speak their own language, Sicilian, a language in which traces of Arabic, Spanish, French and even Greek are mixed. As happens with all languages, there are certain words and expressions that are untranslatable and express the identity of the place better than anything else. Some of Sicilian words have become a kind of trademark of the island by its own right. On Instagram, different profiles help us to learn some Sicilian words in a funny way, but if you have a finely tuned ear, you ..read more