Day 01
Walk Palermo's Historic Highlights and Puppet Workshop
- To begin our tour, we will visit the beautiful Cathedral built in the 12th century, where we can admire Coran's Sura.
- Then, strolling along Cassaro street, your guide will tell you why Palermo is considered an open-air museum of the Second World War.
- Making our way down this most ancient slice of the historic centre, we will see what is hidden behind the huge doors of the aristocratic mansions and admire the fascinating workshop of a puppeteer and the history of the Puppet's theatre - one of the Sicilian resources included in the UNESCO World Heritage list.
- Aside from such legends, your guide will describe to you the greedy variety of local cuisine and its ancient origins. Such stories are best enjoyed at Four Corners Square - the navel of the historical centre with its gorgeous decoration.
- Just around the corner from here, we will be able to see other city highlights too, such as Pretoria Square and the monumental "Shame Fountain" - let's see if you can guess the real reason for its name!
- On the next leg of our tour, we will visit Piazza Bellini and see the Church of Martorana, a real manifesto of architectural and historical changes - I usually describe it as a sort of "time machine" in which to travel through art and history across the ages. Near the church is an ancient coffee roaster, from where the smell of South Italy's best coffee wafts into the rest of the city. You may not be able to take in the aroma, but you will nonetheless appreciate the sight of this ancient enterprise!
- Finally, we will stroll through the Monumental Complex of Santa Caterina. Inside the ancient convent is a pastry shop that the nuns once managed - and they became skilled pastry chefs over the years! We will take a look at the variety of beautiful products made in the pastry shop before we move on to the astonishing baroque church of Santa Caterina to say our final goodbyes.
