Sempre Sorridente: What's there to like about Palermo?

Palermo

I stayed in the Sicilian capital of Palermo for 3 nights, mostly because it’s a convenient and well-connected transit hub close to the Punta Raisi airport and important sites in the western side of Sicily, including Il Valle dei Templi in Agrigento, where I am headed today. Palermo, in and of itself, is the least favorite place I’ve visited on this beautiful island. As the current capital of Sicily, it is filled with important buildings and museums from Baroque, Gothic and Renaissance eras which have been recognized by UNESCO. 

However, despite my appreciation for these historical works, as well as the very clean and well-organized Stazione Centrale, the city is dirty and forlorn, compared to many other capitals I’ve visited. With the exception of a few neatly maintained streets in the area pedonale in the city center, neighborhood after neighborhood was awash with trash, graffiti, dog poop on the sidewalks, weeds growing through cracks in the concrete, etc. Sadly, this was the case even on the main avenue with designer stores like Gucci and Prada. 

As I walked from the Stazione Centrale towards the Arab-Norman UNESCO sites about 1.5 miles away in what should have been an affluent neighborhood in the Centro Storico, I really felt like crying amidst the blocks of neglected apartment buildings, many with discarded furniture on the corners, the smell of urine ever-present. The sheer human detritus was overwhelming and I hadn't felt this way since arriving in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic when I was 15. That was when I was rudely introduced to what living in a so-called third world was like. But Palermo is an important capital in an industrialized nation, so it was quite a shock. As I explored Palermo, I wondered where were all the joyful sidewalk cafes I’ve grown accustomed to seeing in European cities? Even the tree lined streets, which provided wonderful shade from the midday sun, were forlorn and unkempt. The noise, sights and smells of urban decay were prevalent in too many areas to count. 

One thing that has made Palermo enjoyable is my wonderful hosts, Cossimo and Laura, who run the B&B, La Terraza del Sole, near Palermo Notarbartolo station. They are gracious and interesting people who also run an olive orchard and olive oil production business. Earlier this week, Cossimo referred to me to his other guests as Sempre Sorridente (always smiling) Mona. It was a nice reflection as my favorite part of this city has been lounging on their rooftop patio/garden with a bottle of Sicilian white wine, music and my book “Americanah” which I am finally getting to read and am thoroughly enjoying. 

My hosts have already invited me to come back in October for an important city-wide festival, called Gangi. But if I do return to Sicily in the future, it will be to spend more time in the quieter and scenic cities of Siracusa, Taormina and Agrigento, and not the crowded capital.

When I spoke with Cossimo and Laura about the disorientation I felt seeing both the wonderful,  historical areas of Palermo mixed in with the abandoned and decrepit parts, they shrugged their shoulders and acknowledged, "così è a Palermo" - "that's how Palermo is".