Palermo: Palazzo Alliata di Villafranca

A day of errands and chores yesterday. Nothing exciting to report from that day.

Moving on to today …

After breakfast this morning we headed out to do some sightseeing. One of the things we’d done on our ‘day off’ was to organize the sites we wanted to visit by the days and times they would be open during our stay. So, we had a plan in mind.

The apartment is about 20-30 minutes walking distance to Palermo’s historic center … depending on the route you follow. When we saw bus #118 pulling up in front of the building just as we were leaving, however, we decided to hop on the bus and save our steps for later.

This bus driver wasn’t selling tickets, so we got a free ride from him to the transfer station where we bought a set of 8 tickets for the rides we anticipate taking. And then on to bus #101 for the ride to the historic center.

Centro Storico was packed with people when we arrived … a lot of excursion groups, so there must have been a cruise ship in port … in addition to all the bus tours and independents … not to mentions the locals who were out and about.

First up today was a palace built in the 16th century by a Bolognese family. It was purchased by the Alliata di Villafranca family in the 17th century. Subsequent to the 1751 earthquake that razed the building, the palace was rebuilt in the Baroque and Rococo styles. In 1984, the owners bequeathed the palace to the Archbishop’s Theological Seminary … today open to the public for tours, and also cultural events and exhibitions.

The description in the guidebook started out by advising visitors not to let the unkempt exterior dissuade them from visiting the palazzo. A good piece of advice. We paid the admission — cash only — and had a 10-minute wait for the next escorted tour. As it turns out, no one else joined us, so we had a private tour of sorts.

Everything — including priceless paintings, sculptures, and other oggetto d’arte (decorative and ornamental items) — is displayed in the open. Hence the escort from room to room. She provided no information unless we asked questions, but we did have a leaflet in English that pointed out the important features of each room. The dim lighting was not conducive to photography, but I clicked the shutter anyway. Though we have seen much more impressive palazzos, we enjoyed our wander through the rooms here … despite the obvious need for restoration work.

From the palazzo, we headed to La Galleria for lunch. Arriving just after the place opened for the mid-day meal guaranteed us a table outdoors even though we didn’t have reservations. By the time our meal was served, only those with advance reservations were being seated.

Mui ordered the special fish of the day … breaded and sautéed cernia (a fish from the grouper family); I ordered the tagliatelle with a ragù sauce; and we wrapped up with a slice of Sicilian cassata to share … delicious … and not nearly as sweet as the cassatina Mui had brought home when we were in Siracusa.

The plan for the afternoon was to visit the cathedral, which was just around the corner from La Galleria. Unfortunately, that’s when I started feeling a little light headed … almost like I was about to experience an episode of vertigo. Not a good idea to climb narrow, uneven staircases … especially when looking down exacerbated my lightheadedness.

Time to call it a day. Google Maps led us back to the apartment by way of the very busy market street. Once we were home, I took a Dramamine and then Mui helped me through the Epley maneuver. Feeling much better after a short nap, I joined him later to finish binge-watching the new season of “The Diplomat.” Once again, the show wrapped up with a cliff-hanger!

A good night’s rest is now in order so I can be in tip-top shape for sightseeing tomorrow.Read more