Palermo, Sicily - Part 1
38°07'55" N, 13°20'8" E
“Possibly, Daedelus recognized that he had reached a place in which the most lush magnificence, the most sybaritic pleasures console us for – without ever lying about – the harshness of existence.” - Francine Prose, Sicilian Odyssey
Video first for epic context!
Just after sunrise our plane cascaded through the clouds and revealed a landscape that was reminiscent of Santa Barbara, California or Kona, Hawaiʻi: green mountains embraced by turquoise blue water. Conca d'Oro (Golden Basin) is the area where the city of Palermo rests on the Island of Sicily and where 28% of Krystal’s DNA traces its origins. Cagayan de Oro (River of Gold) is where Mary’s family traces their lineage on the Island of Mindanao in the Philippines. This correlation is not wasted on us! We each descend from the golden lands of our ancestors and wow, Palermo, has not disappointed.
Storied as the most conquered city in the world, Palermo immediately meets you with a dizzying confluence of cultures. The food, architecture, people, and spirit of this city is a truly wonderful smash of the surrounding parts of the globe accessible by boat. It is not possible to sum up the experience into words, images, or even video. You’ll have to see, taste, and hear it for yourself. We will do our best to share the pieces that moved us to our core.
The graffiti is stunning - some of the best we have ever seen. The streets are steeped in history and secrets that are reminiscent of no other place and yet seem undeniably familiar. It could also be that almost everyone here looks just like Krystal. We wandered for days with our jaws flapping at the beauty surrounding us. After passing a sign for a community archive that led us on a grand adventure we found Krystal’s 4th great grandfather’s birth certificate in a really old book. We spend most days wandering the cobbled streets, trying to stay warm, and in total awe at just how fast a sunny day can turn into 50mph winds and a downpour.
The best place to miss out on possible downpours is always a museum! Krystal recently read “The Map of Salt and Stars” a magical tale that tells of many things (you should absolutely read this book) including geographer Muhammed al-Idrisi and his Tabula Rogeriana created for King Roger II of Sicily in 1154. The Google Translated version of the Palazzo dei Normanni website seemed to indicate that the foyer was home to a replica celestial and terrestrial planisphere by al-Idrisi, so we sort of b-lined it to the palace. No replicas here, to see any of al-Idrisi’s creations you have to go to cities like Paris, or London, or Istanbul even though they were created here in Palermo. BUT the Palazzo totally blew us away! The mosaic work alone could take a lifetime to fully appreciate.
An entire day was spent soaking on operatic genius at the Teatro Massimo - check the video to indulge in some of that magic. We also spent a whole day locked in a pretty spectacular argument, but taking your life into your own hands every time you walk outside (have we mentioned how people drive in Italy?) leads to thin nerves that can fray if not tended carefully. After a day of serious learning and growing as a couple we continued our regularly scheduled programming and visited the gallery at Villa Zito. The work displayed provided an awesome window into the past, present, and future of Palermo. We really enjoyed the black and white photography by Lia Pasqualino and her images of famed mafia photographer Letizia Battaglia led us to watch “Shooting the Mafia” while hanging around the apartment to meet the plumber. You can see the work at Villa Zito virtually and we caught “Shooting the Mafia” on Kanopy through our Hawaiʻi Public Library account and our trusty VPN (yay for libraries!)
We are trying to take more pictures of the food before we eat it, but we still have a ways to go. Lessons from Palermo: don’t order sardines in your pasta no matter what anyone says, the nuns make the best cannolis, and Sicilian canned tuna is out of this world good. We are steps from the Ballaro Market and no matter what we do our presence screams American tourists coming and sometimes we pay for it, but not as much as Krystal’s mom is paying for stuff in the middle of Wisconsin! If you are keeping a bucket list add “eating my weight in Sicilian oranges” and drinking “Amaro di Arancia Rossa” to the lineup. We are off to hunt for more magic, do more epic work, and Mary is going to eat grilled intestines while Krystal watches.
In family history land, the hunt for jure sanguinis (Italian citizenship through blood relation) is in full swing. A record Krystal thought went to her great grandfather, Theodore Pecoraro, for naturalization in the US didn’t match up and no record for him exists in the state of Wisconsin! This is possibly exciting. Italian handwriting is abysmal, but at least they have pretty good indexes! We were able to find the birth and marriage record for the fellow with the mustache, Antonino Pecoraro and his wife Maria Vitale. A wander into a photo shop in Palermo revealed that the family is “definitely not rich” judging by their shoes. Also stay tuned to see if Maria Gigante, the gal clutching her purse in the photo below and Krystal’s 3x great grandmother, is related to the Gigantes of not so glorious fame in New York and Sicily.
