Palermo Attractions — Usual and Ordinary

Unfortunately - or fortunately I guess - for us, we managed to see several Palermo highlights prior to the COVID situation. The image above (from online) is of one of many sections in the Capuchin Crypts. The monks here discovered the dry air of the crypt preserved bodies pretty well and developed additional embalming techniques, initially used only on their own deceased residents, but later expanded to anyone who could pay. It became quite the thing for the wealthy to be embalmed and displayed here, and has resulted in an excellently creepy attraction.

We also visited the Teatro Massimo, which is still used for musical and theatrical productions:

Prior to being removed from our Rick Steves tour, we had a walking tour of the historic center, which ended up being more useful than we thought after we were stuck in the city on our own for a few days. We went to Palazzo Conte Federico for a personal tour from Contessa Alwine Federico, as well as a trip to the Monreale Cathedral, a huge Norman-style basilica with fantastic interior mosaics.

Contessa Federico greets our group at her home

After the COVID diagnosis, the touring came to an abrupt halt. Luckily the weather was good, so we could walk around the city…and eat. Next post!