Palermo

Planning a trip to Sicily? If you like Naples, you’ll love Palermo. Here are a few highlights from my visit.

Palermo reminds visitors of the once-upon-a-time importance of Sicily. A thousand years ago, with a population of 100,000, it was second only to Córdoba in Europe.

The cathedral at Monreale (just outside of Palermo) is slathered in gold leaf — two tons of it, they claim…another powerful testimony to the affluence and importance of Sicilian culture in the 12th century.

I visited Palermo on a Best of Sicily tour. Our guide, Alfio Di Mauro, provided a constant parade of experiences…like meeting a charming contessa (countess) and touring her elegant world inside the Palazzo Conte Federico.

A local guide, Jackie, took us on a side-trip into the spooky yet thought-provoking Capuchin Crypt. Until the 19th century, the Capuchin monks provided a remarkably public final resting place for Palermo’s leading citizens. Today, tourists are welcome to explore the vast underground collection of still-clothed skeletons and encouraged to ponder their own mortality.

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This is Day 12 of my “100 Days in Europe” series. As I travel with Rick Steves’ Europe Tours, research my guidebooks, and make new TV shows, I’m reporting on my experiences in Italy, Portugal, France, Ireland, England, Scotland, Germany, Switzerland, and more. Thanks for joining me here on my blog and via Facebook.

Since ancient Roman times, the piazza has been integral to the fabric of Italian life. Here, in the land of a thousand bell towers, it seems every person is in love with the sound of their own town’s church bells…and feels at home with their neighbors on the piazza. The tour guide for my Best of Sicily in 11 Days Tour, Alfio di Mauro, explains why.

This is Day 5 of my A Hundred Days in Europe series. As I lead tours, research my guidebooks, and make new TV shows, I’m reporting on my experiences all across Europe. I never know exactly what’s next…but it’s always fascinating and inspiring. Thanks for joining me here on my blog and via Facebook.

Here’s a travel tip: Revisit Europe’s great markets after dark. I love the markets of Palermo, where merchants sing their sales pitches and the octopus are squirting-fresh. But at night, it’s an entirely different scene. Join Alfio di Mauro and me on a walk through the Vucciria Market after hours — a kaleidoscope of edgy graffiti, kids with big eyes and gelato, cheap plastic chairs, soccer on the big screen, and people embracing life with Sicilian gusto.

This is Day 4 of my A Hundred Days in Europe series. As I lead tours, research my guidebooks, and make new TV shows, I’m reporting on my experiences all across Europe. I never know exactly what’s next…but it’s always fascinating and inspiring. Thanks for joining me here on my blog and via Facebook.

Something I love about my work is getting my outdated impressions up-to-date. Europe is always changing — and even on the very first night of our Best of Sicily in 11 Days Tour, it’s clear that Palermo is a whole new city since my last visit.

Today’s Palermo has demolished my old, fearful, lingering Mafia images. The city is still colorful…yet it feels safe, youthful, trendy. A theme in my travels all across Europe is traffic-free and people-friendly — and Palermo is a great example. In this video, I’m with my guide, Alfio di Mauro, enjoying Palermo’s venerable Four Corners (Quattro Canti).

This is Day 3 of my A Hundred Days in Europe series. As I lead tours, research my guidebooks, and make new TV shows, I’m reporting on my experiences in Sicily, Naples and the Amalfi Coast, Rome, Portugal, Paris, Ireland, the heart of England, Scotland, Germany’s Black Forest, Alsace, the great cities of Switzerland, and more. I never know exactly what’s next…but it’s always fascinating and inspiring. Thanks for joining me here on my blog and via Facebook.