Here is a fine shot of Palermo by day, the same scene as Palermo by Night, of my Feb. 1 blog post below. If you don't look down at the refuse and garbage on the ground, things look really good.
Sicily
and Vermont
Park at Piazza Independenza a Mess
February 7, 2015
This park,used very much by retired me who sit in the sun and play cards, has been vandalized, abused and neglected, like so many spots in Palermo. You have to take the good with the bad here.
Abandoned beauty
February 6, 2015
Here is the mosaic of Il Capo, one of Palermo's three suqs. It is an art deco (in Sicily they would say Stile Liberty) mosaic depicting Demeter, the goddess of grains and agriculture, the mother of Persephone, and it is embedded in the exterior wall of the now closed Panificio Morello. A few tiles Read More
Live broadcast: Catania's feast of S. Agata
February 5, 2015
The feast is happening live, now, and Antenna Sicilia broadcasts salient parts live on the internet for several hours at a time.
Italy's New President a Victim of the Mafia
February 1, 2015
Today Sergio Mattarella, who in 1980 pulled his dead brother, Piersanti, then President of the Sicilian region, from his car, was elected President of the Republic of Italy. Yes, if you lose your brother to dirty assassins, you are a victim. A man from the south, one who has shed tears because of the Mafia, is now at the head of the country. Read More
Palermo By Night
February 1, 2015
Palermo by Night
She is never more beautiful. This is a view of the Palermo cathedral from a rooftop in the historic center. Photographer unknown to me.
Bicycles for Sale in Via Divisi
January 31, 2015
A cross street of Via Roma in the old historic center. There are still bike shops there.
Just about every Palermitano has bought at least one bike here. I found this excellent photo on the facebook group "Palermo in Bianco e Nero." Photographer unknown to me.
Mattresses in the street
January 26, 2015
Mattresses everywhere you look.
Everywhere you walk in historic Palermo, there are mattresses in the street. They can be taken away by the city for free by simply calling a toll-free number, but I think either the Palermitani don't know about this service, or they leave the mattresses for homeless people to sleep on. Some are thoughtfully kept Read More
Rosalia at the Catacombs
January 25, 2015
The two-year-old Rosalia mummified and on display at the capuchin catacombs. She is now in a space-age pod and not so accessible. Photo from Claudio Pezzillo.
Little Rosalia was embalmed so well.
Giuliana Church Steeple
January 23, 2015
I took this picture back in 1986. Giuliana is in the mountains in Palermo province, a beautiful spot. This church, to which a lady has attached her wash line, was church then a mosque ( with the addition of the dome, then back to a church again.
Emigant Ships in Palermo Harbor
January 22, 2015
My grandmother or my grandfather might have boarded one of these ships. Emigration is big business. It was legal to go to the United States, so my grandparents could travel ( separately; they weren't married when they left Sicily) in safe, steel ships instead of on rubber rafts or in unseaworthy fishing boats like the Read More