Honeymoon - Italy, Palermo (Sicily)

Palermo is the capital city of the island of Sicily, Italy. And it definitely felt like we were on an island, because of the humidity, the warmer weather, and the tropical vegetation in the parks. Finding a good map was a little tricky at first, but we finally stopped off at a hotel, picked up a map, and started exploring the city.

First stop was the Teatro Massimo Vittorio Emanuele, built in 1897. It is the largest theater in Italy and third largest in Europe. The opera house is supposed to have perfect acoustics and, according to the box office, has a lively schedule.


Afterward, we walked around and discovered the Quattro Canti (aka Piazza Vigliena), a baroque square with two converging streets and four Baroque buildings with near identical facades and fountains with statues of the four seasons, the four Spanish kings of Sicily, and of the patronesses of Palermo, (Cristina, Ninfa, Olivia, and Agata). It was pretty cool, and pretty stupid I didn't photograph all four facades. Oh well.


Right around the corner is the Piazza Pretoria. The Piazza houses a lovely fountain (not on) and The Palazzo Pretorio built in the 15th century (the yellow building).


Next is a very fun and different church. The San Cataldo, built in Norman architecture, was founded around 1160. It was used as a post office (?!) in the 18th century, which floors me, and is now back to its religious roots. I love the red domes.


The Cathedral of Palermo is highly impressive. It is very detailed from the exterior, the entry door wood carvings were a favorite of Cody's (didn't come out as impressive in the photo), and the inside was your typical baroque cathedral. I loved how the cathedral seemed to continue on with arches over the road. This cathedral was built during numerous centuries with various additions. It was erected in 1185, but really a 14th or 15th century look is on the exterior.

Here are the exterior shots of the church.


Here are the interior shots.


Next we meandered. We discovered the Palazzo Reale (aka Palazzo Normanni), which is built in Norman architecture, and has a lovely tropical park next door. I finally got my Italian gelato in the park (but the couple we had in Spain were better).



Next we got lost. We saw part of the university in town, saw some churches from the outside, saw the President of Palermo's house, and stolled down some produce streets.



It started getting late and I still wanted to go to the shore. These last pictures are of the harbor, the cool heart shaped rock, and us in the wind. The last two are of the Teatro Politeama. This theater looked absolutely amazing in the sunset. It is located in one of Palermo's main squares.


WARNING - VERY UNATTRACTIVE PHOTO OF ME!