“Contrasts”. That word describes Palermo best of all. (Probably in more ways than I’ve yet discovered.) Contrasts in style, in degree of polish and repair, in level of “refinement”. The juxtapositions are jarring at times in Palermo.
The “Quattro Canti“, the Four Corners were “laid out on the orders of the Viceroy the Duke of Maqueda between 1608-1620 by Giulio Lasso at the crossing of the two principal streets in Palermo, the Via Maqueda and the Corso Vittorio Emanuele. The piazza is octagonal, four sides being the streets, and the remaining four sides are Baroque buildings the near identical facades of which contain fountains with statues of the four seasons, the four Spanish kings of Sicily, and of the patronesses of Palermo. The facades onto the interchange are curved, and rise to four floors; the fountains rise to the height of the second floor, the third and fourth floors contain the statues in niches. At the time the piazza was built, it was one of the first major examples of town planning in Europe.” (From Wikipedia.)
The grand-scale “Teatro Massimo Vittorio Emanuele is an opera house and opera company located on the Piazza Verdi in Palermo, Sicily. It was dedicated to King Victor Emanuel II. It is the biggest in Italy, and one of the largest of Europe (the third after the Opéra National de Paris and the K. K. Hof-Opernhaus in Vienna ), renowned for its perfect acoustics.” (From Wikipedia.) Construction began in the late 1800s.
The inscription across the front, above the columns, states “l’arte rinnova i popoli e ne rivela la vita”, “Art renews the people and reveals life.” A strong affirmation of the importance of the arts in our lives.
This tumble-down block is just a couple of blocks from the Palazzo Reale, the Royal Palace. There’s a billboard toward the lower left of this photo, which is where I ate the skewered, grilled veal guts.
Chiesa di San Giuseppe dei Teatini. Church of St. Joseph of the Teatines.
Kids grow up on these chinked, polished paving stones. And they start out with mini-scooters at a young age!
A kiosk at the street corner in front of the Teatro Massimo.
Yet another street corner.
This little shop repairs scooter seats. Most of the little businesses seem quite specialized.
