An undesirable and unexpected thing happened yesterday – Bo’s camera battery died. This sent us on a wild goose chase all over Palermo to get a new one. In the process we walked through most of the old town as people were sending us from place to place until finally one merciful soul in a very modern technology store told us that we won’t be able to find it anywhere in the center and gave us an address of the biggest electronic store in a suburb of Palermo. We have yet to go there. In between our chase for batteries, we stopped in a number of Arab-Norman and Byzantine churches, walked through a whole series of picturesque squares and very narrow streets lined with beautiful if dilapidated palazzos with colorful washing hanging from the balconies. We visited Palazzo Mirto, a former palace of Sicilian princes that was given to the state after the last prince died in 1982. It’s an amazing place. It’s hard to find because even standing right in front of it, you have no idea what’s hidden behind the faded façade. The beauty of this palazzo and of Palermo in general is that it’s all authentic and unadorned and nothing is cleaned up or beautified for tourists’ sake. We had the place pretty much to ourselves, with all its faded glory, bare-threaded wall-covering fabrics, worn upholstery, dusty furniture. It was real, though. We also saw the palazzo where Visconti filmed the ballroom scene of his movie “The Leopard”. It looks like it badly needs renovation, but its old owners, the family of Principe Vulguarnera-Gangi still live there. Tired of walking, we went to a place that was recommended to us by Bo’s Sicilian friend, Roberta. Focacceria San Franceso is a very popular place among Palermans(?).. It took us a while to figure out the drill (and what to order), but we did have a wonderful meal of arancine (a rice ball stuffed with cheese and ham), a huge salad of rocket lettuce, buffalo mozzarella and small Sicilian tomatoes and a stew of eggplant, olives, celery, capers and garlic.
Today is Good Friday – lots of processions. It’s 10 pm and they are still going…
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