janeandrogersadventure

Palermo

We had never ventured around the Cape to Palermo before now.

Punta Raisi on an incredible still day

We sailed from San Vito Lo Capo, another enormous Cape, and the sail around was invigorating. One thing that these Capes do is create their own wind, swell and current and anything goes at any time. It makes for exciting sailing. Into the Main harbour in the historic centre.

Palermo Harbour
Palermo Harbour

We are surrounded here by the historic centre and our first stop is Palazzo Butera right on the waterfront. A 16C palazzo, originally owned by Prince Butera, that was bought in 2016 by the Valsecchini family and restored and now an art gallery. Incredible!

One of the many painted ceilings
And then you can go into the roof space and see how those coffered painted ceilings are made and suspended.
Incredible detail and effort has gone into this restoration- no expense spared.
From the top of the roof the view east
In their renovation they discovered water channels lined with majolica tiles and a jacaranda tree root happily grown into the water supply. The tree still outside in the courtyard.
Happy jacaranda

The Palazzo has 3 levels, all immaculate – a delight to visit.

Teatro Massimo Palermo
A Norman Church plus the original Mosque San Giovanni degli Eremiti – from the Byzantine era

Palermo is a bustling hive of activity. The streets are full of life and it is so culturally diverse and feels really good. So many historic sites, churches, even the laneways and views through archways into courtyards – it is a pleasure.

Next stop is Monreale – the Cathedral sits on the hill looking down over Palermo. We have hired a car – I love driving here – chaotic and challenging- but the drivers are forgiving of my last minute lane changes!

The most ornate golden interior with marble and frescoes that could keep you here for days. A history that began with a Mosque and there are strong Arabic and Spanish influences throughout.
The facade of the Duomo taken from the roof terrace. It is always possible to climb and tunnel through to these amazing spaces where you get a different perspective
Looking down into the cloister and garden
Monreale

We also wanted to see Garibaldi’s Garden which is quite close to the Marina and behind Palazzo Butera. There grows the largest fig tree in Europe – and not just one but several fill the space.

Roots snaking across the ground

Also it’s time for a haircut! Some of you will understand the slight hesitation i have in choosing to do this but I have found a place online that gets great reviews and is nearby.

And the end result is great plus lots of fun

A few days here and we will head around the Cape again back to Castelmmare Del Golfo where we will pick up my cousin Chris. He is flying in from the UK and helping us do the overnight sail to Sardegna – we keep going 🙏

19 Jul This entry was published on July 19, 2022 at 6:08 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post.

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