Palermo

Palermo certainly contrasts with Catania. While Catania's streets are wide, surrounded exclusively by Baroque buildings and planned out meticulously, Palermo's are far more narrow, noisy and chaotic. Palermo markets itself as the most conquered city in the world, and as such has influences from all over the Mediterranean and beyond. However, this variety is crushed by the "Sack of Palermo", a term used by locals to describe the barrage of shoddy apartment blocks that sprung up here since the Second World War.

While I don't think much of the city itself, the food I've had here has been exceptional - the arancini, sfincione and fresh ricotta wrapped in pannelle were all absolutely delicious. The absolute standout, however, was Involtini Di Maiale alla Palermitana - gorgeous rolls of pork wrapped around a bread-and-onion stuffing containing salami, two different types of cheese, and sun dried tomatoes - it was absolutely gorgeous.

A couple of non-food-related stand-outs included the view from the roof of the cathedral and the Capuchin Catacombs. The latter was extremely eerie, over 8,000 mummified bodies dressed in period clothes from when they were alive staring down at you from the walls of the crypt, some of them over 800 years old. I wasn't allowed to take photos while I was in the catacombs but have included one from Google here.

On the whole, I would have preferred to spend a bit more time in Catania and less in Palermo. It's a nicer city with more going on (climbing an active volcano, for one!) While there is plenty to see in Palermo, particularly if you're into markets and churches, the city doesn't really suit my Google-and-Go style of sightseeing, and the public transport network here just doesn't support half-day trips or quickly dashing around the city. And frankly, given this is the home turf of the Mafia, I'm not too disappointed to be saying arrivederci to Palermo and heading to the Italian mainland overnight.Leggi altro