Villa Trabia (Trabia Gardens in Palermo)

Not long ago I rediscovered a place that the locals of Palermo often forget about ,Villa Trabia.

It is a beautiful and big ensembles of gardens which can almost be called a park but has nothing to do with the conventional parks we all know and love, Villa Trabia is more than that, it's covered with tall palm trees and all other kinds of trees. In fact thanks to the care of the head gardener Vincent Ostinelli, trees such as locust trees, monkey-puzzle trees, oleanders, conifers, ficus magnolioides and oak can be found in the Villa, with a total in 1910 of 2,790 plant species (now currently around 150 species).

The building called the Casena in the district of Terre Rosse, is one of the many attractions of Villa Trabia, it was built in the eighteenth century by Ignatius Lucchesi Palli, prince of Campofranco and was then bought by Giuseppe Lanza Branciforte, prince of Trabia in 1814. The building is composed of a large central body on two levels, with two side wings and a small courtyard at the center of which lies the entrance.

 Also you might like to know that the Villa is divided into two parts, cut in two by a natural gradient (an old "pirrere" quarries of limestone) which now houses a road. The two sections of the Villa are connected by a beautiful bridge built in the Baroque style, there, it's possible to visit  some of the greenhouses and a large historic fountain built in the seventeenth century. 

But that isn't all, Villa Trabia holds a branch of Palermo's city council, a public library and a very useful free internet point. It is such a magical place, especially in the spring and the summer, that weddings ceremonies can take place there. I do advice to anyone to go and visit it, it's not far from the center in Via Salinas 3 and it's open from Monday to Friday from 9.30 am to 06.00 pm.    

 

Oratorio Santa Cita (Oratory Santa Cita)

I discovered this spectacular chapel thanks to the TV programme "Sicily Unpacked" shown on BBC4 in January.  I was completely astonished by the beautiful stucco sculptures all handmade by Giacomo Serpotta.

Born and died in Palermo (1652-1732), Serpotta was a true master in working with stucco.

Stucco was a difficult medium to work with as it was drying very fast not leaving much time for correcting mistakes.  One day Serpotta came up with the idea of adding marble dust to the stucco mix giving the final sculpture a more lustrous effect, when I saw the statues for the first time I thought they were made of marble that is how amazing the effect was.

Serpotta's best representation of his work can be found at the Oratorio Santa Cita . That is why on my last visit to Palermo in February I visited this chapel .

Tickets costs 5 euros per person, you can also visit the Oratorio San Domenico a couple of minutes walk away by using the same ticket where you can admire more art-work of Giacomo Serpotta.

Museo Internazionale delle Marionette (International Puppet Museum)

A great and original Museum .

All the puppets are handmade and very old, some of them are over 100 years old!
The collection comes from all over the world like Indonesia, Japan, China etc....

It is a great place to take your kids, especially on Tuesdays and Fridays as at 17.30
a puppet show takes place (October-June) which we missed as we went in the morning!

Tickets cost 5 euros per adult and 3 euros for children.  If you are in a group you can try to get a better price like we did!  In fact we almost paid half of the original price after a bit of bargaining.

Opening times: Monday- Saturday 9.00-13.00/ 14.30-18.30
Sunday 10.00-13.00

Address: Piazzetta Antonio Pasqualino 5 (near Porta Felice)

Just a little advice on finding the Museum as is a little tricky to find as we went passed it
without realising.
Once you get to Via Butera take the first left onto vicolo Niscemi, where you will find the Museum on your left.

Casa Professa

One of the most important Baroque churches in Palermo.

If you want to see a true example of the Baroque art i definitely

recommend a visit to this church.

Partly destroyed in the second world war, it reopened in 2009.

Unfortunately is not allowed to take pictures inside, but i sneakily

managed to take some to show off  the beautiful architecture

of this church.
Very easy to find it is near two other beautiful monument which are the 4 Canti
and the Piazza Pretoria which you can find a brief description in my most popular
article " Top 10 Palermo sightseeing".

Il Capo Comes Alive

Stepping into the neighborhood just behind the somber bulk of Palermo’s Cathedral feels like entering another country. An Arabic one, to be precise. Il Capo is one of the city’s oldest neighborhoods, and has managed to retain a distinctly Moorish influence in its streets and market.

Il Capo occupies the northwestern quadrant of Palermo’s historic center demarcated by the Quattro Canti, and reveals its charms like a jack-in-the-box. The first hour we spent walking around, we were unimpressed. The streets were narrow and photogenic, and had strange names like Via Sedie Volanti(“Flying Seats”) and Scippateste (which I can best translate as “Head Snatcher”), but there wasn’t much life.

But then: POP. As soon as we came upon the Piazza del Monte and Via Sant’Agostino, Il Capo burst out of its box. A busy market with vendors hawking everything from espresso makers to swordfish greeted us. Shopping around for the pine nuts and basil needed for pesto, we quickly discovered the neighborhood’s charms. A wedding was taking place in the church, and preparations for a weekend festival were underway. People seemed in unnaturally good moods; a barber and the customer he was shaving waved us in and asked us to take their picture. Random, but sure, why not?

Next to the barber, we found a bakery with white tiles and huge ovens in the back. I don’t know if we’re just having good luck, or perhaps are conditioned to dealing with more guarded Latin Americans, but people here are extraordinarily gracious to tourists. When we timidly asked if we could see the bread being made, the woman in charge immediately said, “Certo!! Entrate!”, and ushered us in.

A couple days later, we returned to Il Capo to check out the festival. The church and adjacent streets were decked out in lights extremely reminiscent of those from Valencia’s incredible Fallas festival. Unsurprising, since the best lights from Fallas are organized by Italian companies.

Morning is the best time to visit Il Capo, when the market is at its most hectic. But regardless of the hour, this strange little neighborhood is worth a look.

Source:http://palermo.for91days.com/2011/09/27/il-capo-comes-alive/

International Exhibition of Diving in Ustica

With a busy program of events that will see involved not only professionals 

but also adults and children who want to explore the fascinating world of diving .

The events will include:Stage diving, astronomy, creative workshops for 

children, boat trips to the caves of the island, photo competitions, nature hikes 

and snorkeling.

Some of these events will be available for both professionals and amateurs. 

There will also be delicious food tasting, gastronomy workshops, conferences

competitions, exhibitions, concerts and shows in the beautiful surroundings 

of the Natural Reserve.