Palermo Weekend: First Trip After the Fall

 

In February we ventured out for our first attempt at travel since John's fall last June. We headed to Palermo by train, as we had tickets to see a ballet at the beautiful Teatro Massimo. Cognizant of not overdoing, I selected a hotel not too far from the theatre and near the Regional Archaeological Museum, which we chose as our other activity for this weekend visit. 

After the two hour train ride, we hired a taxi at the station to take us to our hotel, and then had a short rest after check-in. Normally we would have hoofed it, and I wouldn't have paid for such a centrally located hotel. The investment made the travel doable and enjoyable, which is all you can ask for!

I love old Italian building keys, as well as these cute pillows with Sicilian playing card decorations. Hotel Posta was great - friendly and helpful staff, and a delicious breakfast, as well as the location. If you visit, consider it - recommended! 

Since this was a travel day, I hadn't planned anything specific to do, other than find somewhere for dinner. However, John was feeling energetic, so we decided to walk over to Piazza Bellini and have our favorite cannolo! This area is always a pleasure to visit, with the nearby Four Corners and Pretoria Fountain, and two UNESCO churches (seen in the cover photo). I've written about all of these before, so just a few photos this time. 

We were treated to a talented violin player while we enjoyed our cannolo and the setting sun reflecting off the buildings.

Next we meandered in the direction of the restaurant I had chosen for dinner. Since its opening time was a bit away still, we stopped to try a Sicilian street food that we've not had yet. Panelle are deep-fried chickpea fritters. Yum! They also are popularly served as a sandwich, but we'll have to try that another time. Aren't the restaurant tile decorations cute? John remembered that we had stopped at this place once before for pizza slices!

John got excited when he saw our restaurant was called Trattoria Ferro di Cavallo, thinking he was going to get some horse meat. Sadly, the cavallo was only part of the word horseshoe. Nevertheless, we enjoyed a delicious Caponata appetizer and pasta meal (pasta al forno for me and pasta con l’anciova for John).

 

6,714 steps: a successful first day

For our second day, we had plans to visit the Museo Regionale Archeologico Antonino Salinas and to attend the ballet (with a rest in between). We ended up also going to a special exhibit on Palermo during the Belle Epoque period.

The regional museum showcases finds from Sicily, including artifacts from Carthaginian and Greek settlements. It is housed in a former monastery, so the building is interesting for exploration, as well. One of the most impressive features to me was a section reconstructing the archaeological site of Selinunte (a place I knew nothing about previous to our visit, and I would like to go there!). When we arrived, we discovered that we could spend just a little more and receive a ticket to visit the special exhibit, so we opted for that.

Some architectural features. And turtles!

Because of the way it was displayed, it was difficult to get a decent photo of the Palermo Stone, but I wanted to include it because of its significance. This stone is one of several pieces of the Royal Annals of the Old Kingdom of Egypt. It contains the names of kings and descriptions of events, providing invaluable insight into this culture. 

Marble funerary Inscriptions from Catania and Siracusa.

Sarcofagi

John getting in touch with his inner Emperor Claudius. This is a reconstructed sculpture whose pieces were found in Tindari.

This statue, found in the lagoon waters of Marsala, had an interesting discovery story. About 6 B.C.

Cool jewelry pieces. Unfortunately, I don't remember where they came from in the region.

Ancient coins. Antonino Salinas, the archaeologist who the museum is named after, had an extensive coin collection.

Late 6th - early 5th century BC sculpture from Mistretta. It reminded me of Internet sensation Moo Deng the hippo, even though it's a lion.

First photo: Various artifacts, BC. I was intrigued by #14, as the hand position was reminiscent of Buddha statues. Second photo: Votive objects, circa 5 BC. 

The remaining photos are from the Selinunte portion of the museum. Fascinating!

Terracotta architectural items from temples, providing insight into rainwater collection and drainage systems.

Sculptured slabs like this one, decorated the temples at Selinunte. Called metope, they illustrate scenes from Greek myths. For example, in the center is the beheading of Medusa. 

A frieze depicting the marriage of Zeus and Hera. A horse's tail from a larger sculpture. 

A large hall contains a reconstruction of one of the temples from Selinunte.

After the museum, we were off for some lunch and a walk to the site of the special exhibit. Palermo Felicissima is a multi-media immersive experience covering a time period in Palermo when the Florio family was prominent. If you don't know about the Florios, there is a mini-series on Hulu, The Lions of Sicily (I leoni di Sicilia). The series is based on the books by Stefania Auci, of which I've read the first, after our friend Donna recommended it. I preferred the book (and want to read the others), but the series was also good, just a tad 'soap operaish' for my personal tastes. 

 

Our lunch was delish. John found sfincione, and I enjoyed a Pasta alla Norma. But the highlight was that yummy insalata! The exhibit didn't lend itself to photos, but you can read about it at the link provided above. The building in which the exhibit was housed was quite beautiful.

Palazzo Bonocore was lovely, and we had a relaxing moment to enjoy an alternate view of Fontana Pretoria while sipping a glass of wine.

After a brief rest back at the hotel, we were off to Teatro Massimo for the ballet. Attending a show there has been a bucket list item for me, and it's also been a good while since I've been to the ballet, so I was excited. I was a little concerned about how we would manage access for John, but the staff were all very helpful in directing us to special entrances, elevators, etc.

The front

Inside. As you can see, we had great seats. It was our first time in a box. So posh! The usher has to come and unlock the door for one to go inside. Our box was right next to the grand box (second photo) for the VIPs. For context, if you are a fan of The Godfather movies, the grand box is where the Corleone family sat to watch Anthony perform in the opera in the third film. (The theatre was reconstructed on a set, as Teatro Massimo was undergoing renovation when the film was made.)

Interior Details. The performance was very enjoyable, including the wonderful orchestra.

We had a decent number of steps the second day, as well.

In all, it was a successful first excursion, post-Fall. It also gave us confidence to take our first cruise since the Fall, the following month. But that's for a future blog!