Bleeding Espresso

It’s Palermonday again!

After visiting Teatro Massimo, La Fontana della Vergogna, and Quattro Canti, we’re now continuing along on Corso Vittorio Emanuele through la Porta Nuova (left) in Palermo.

This is one of my favorite photos of Palermo. I love how it captures the history, the hustle and bustle of the city, and even a Smart car–essential for any European street scene.

Plus I’m pretty proud of myself for not caring that I looked like a total tourist while stopping on that tiny sidewalk (believe me, the photo makes it look *gigantic* compared to the reality), burning my eyes looking into the strong midday sun, and snapping away.

I used to have issues with that, but I’m apparently past them.

The original Porta Nuova was built in 1583 to commemorate the victory of Charles V (known as Carlo V in Italy) over the Turks, but was destroyed in an explosion in 1667. Two years later, architect Gaspare Guercio redid the entrance to the city, adding a majolica-tiled pyramid with an eagle on the top (as always, click on photos to enlarge):

For centuries, Porta Nuova was the most important entry way into the city of Palermo, but Cherrye and I had a few moments of doubt as to whether we could actually pass through it on foot and continue along Corso Vittorio Emanuele without taking a detour.

We are living proof that you can indeed walk through the Porta Nuova.

Sure, it’s against traffic, but don’t worry, it opens up a bit inside to about the same width as the sidewalk outside. In fact, I felt safe enough to stop and take a photo of the inside of Porta Nuova, something you’re not going to find just anywhere:

Adjacent to the Porta Nuova is the Palazzo dei Normanni, the seat of the Regional Parliament in Sicily and also home of the Cappella Palatina, the royal chapel of the Norman kings of Sicily and one of the most beautiful and impressive sites in all of Palermo.

Or so we’ve been told.

It was closed the day we were there, which means we have yet another reason to return to this beautiful city.

On to the Duomo next Palermonday!

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It’s Palermonday again!

Two weeks ago, we visited Italy’s largest opera house, Teatro Massimo, and last week we were at La Fontana della Vergogna, or the Fountain of Shame.

Well, just around the corner from gorgeous Piazza Pretoria is Quattro Canti, or the Four Corners, marking the intersection of Corso Vittorio Emanuele and Via Maqueda–the old heart of Palermo:

The four buildings of Quattro Canti each have three levels of Giulio Lasso-designed Baroque sculptures.

The themes are the Four Seasons, Spanish kings, and patron saints of Palermo’s original four quarters.

There are also gorgeous Baroque fountains at ground level.

It is said that the sculptures used to be pearly white, but city smog and pollution have given them a grey, um, patina. Still gorgeous though, aren’t they?

Make sure you come back next week for the next installment of Palermondays because believe me, everywhere you look in Palermo, there seems to be yet another amazing, sculpted masterpiece.

They just don’t make buildings like this anymore, do they?

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It’s Palermonday again! If you missed the first installment, please check out last Monday’s visit to Teatro Massimo as well.

Cherrye and I only had one full day to explore Palermo. We wanted to really get a feel for the city, so we decided to just walk around and see what we stumbled upon (with the help of some guidebook info of course).

As it turns out, Palermo is *fabulous* for walking because many of the major sites run along Corso Vittorio Emanuele, historically been the city’s most important street, and that’s the route I’m going to take you on.

We started at our hotel in the Piazza Marina area and headed away from the water and up the main street.

The gorgeous Piazza Pretoria was our first major find:

And we weren’t the only ones there.

One sweet girl from this troop actually came up to me and asked me where to find something–apparently there was a scavenger hunt going on.

But the only thing I really knew how to find was what was in the middle of Piazza Pretoria: La Fontana della Vergogna, or the Fountain of Shame, a work by Florentine sculptor Francesco Camilliani and Michelangelo Naccherino completed in 1555.

Why is it called the Fountain of Shame you ask?

Well look at all that nekkidness!

You see, the fountain was originally intended for the private villa of the Viceroy Don Pedro de Toledo in Tuscany, where perhaps the 16 (nude) representations of gods and goddesses would’ve been more appropriate.

Let’s just say it didn’t go over so well in the middle of Palermo.

Piazza Pretoria is absolutely surrounded by churches, and as it turns out, the faithful weren’t too excited to come out of Mass and see such debauchery.

But to my 21st century eyes, the fountain and everything around it is simply amazing.

I even love the inscription telling us the name of the iron foundry responsible for protecting the fountain.

Grazie Fonderia Gaetano Basile!

And here is some detail of the church across Via Maqueda (in the background of the first photo), Chiesa di San Giuseppe dei Teatini, designed by Giacomo Besio in 1612 with the dome added in the 18th century:

You might get the idea that Cherrye and I spent quite a bit of time in this square. We did.

It’s breathtakingly beautiful.

And since photos of the fountain at night are so lovely, I can only hope to get back to Palermo someday and see it all lit up in person.

Who’s coming with?

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I loved Palermo so much I can’t possibly sum it all up in one, two, or even three posts. So for the next several Mondays, I’m going to share travel tales from Palermo . . .

Palermondays are here!

Now you may remember that before Cherrye and I set off for our trip to Sicily, I mentioned wanting to visit the Teatro Massimo in Palermo. Well we did!

This magnificent opera house opened in 1897 in part to provide national unity for the newly formed country of Italy; remember the Risorgimento and unification of Italy only occurred in the 19th century.

As the largest opera house in Italy and the third largest in all of Europe, Teatro Massimo Vittorio Emanuele seats 1,350 and features 7 tiers of boxes around an inclined stage, all in the shape of a horseshoe.

The opera house was built by the architect Giovanni Battista Filippo Basile, paying homage to classic Sicilian architecture; the exterior is reminiscent of the ancient Greek temples of Selinunte and Agrigento.

Take a virtual tour of Teatro Massimo here.

Don’t forget to come back next week for another Palermonday!

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