Palermo Day 4 and Monreale

We were to meet our driver in front of the Piazza Pretoria, which is about 100m away from where we’re staying. I’ve mentioned it before, but didn’t include a photo then.

This Piazza is considered to be located in the exact centre of the historic city. Have I mentioned we like to stay in the centre?

This place is also known as the Square of Shame because there are 16 nudes of mermaids, nymphs and humans around the central fountain.

Kath even posed for a photo here in a moment of weakness.

And on our way out, Mick pointed out this sign to her. Luckily she got away with it.

We were told to expect a black Mercedes Benz van at 10am. This was to be at our disposal for the next four hours. It arrived early and Michael T was our driver. He’s also a guide and the owner of the little tour company, so we had a very full and informative few hours.

First stop was Monreale to see the beautiful church built by “Good” William II, dedicated to Mary, as a gift for the people.

The glittering gold mosaic work that adorned the inside of the Duomo was breathtaking.

Check out the size of the back doors.

The girl in the shot was making a movie of herself and was shocked that Mick “photo bombed” it. The doors went up a further 3-5 metres.

Even the outside detail of the church was intricate.

It took us twice as long to get back to the city because the roads were busier with tourist buses. Driving here is an artform and takes a lot of courage.

Next stop was the Capuchin Catacombs. Michael T did give us an option not to go there, but we twisted Kath’s arm and we all went, however we didn’t stay long. It was very gruesome. There are 8,000 bodies stored here. The first one laid here was that of a monk, mummified in 1599 when the monastery outgrew its cemetery. It was meant initially for monks only.

Our next stop at the Royal Palace and its Palatine Chapel was much more enjoyable. We spent an hour here, but much of that was lining up and passing through security.

This is the main courtyard of the palace and the view we had while we waited to go into the private chapel.

More gold mosaics and impressive craftsmanship was on show here. There was also a temporary display of original artworks from 15th Century to 17th Century. Kath really enjoyed this.

And yes, we hadn’t had enough of churches today, so we stopped at the Cathedral.

This was very different to the ones we’ve seen over the last few days. There were few or no mosaics on display here, and it was massive.

It also had a hidden treasure here.

Yes, there was a toilet behind this alter for visitors to use. Mick checked it out for us.

Last stop – Capo Markets. Did I say this was only half a day tour? We were all wearing out by now.

Here we tried the famous Palermo Street Food and Mick discovered the ONLY way he likes to eat chickpeas.

Deep fried chickpea flour patties – panelle – and we also tried deep fried mashed potato and mint and battered cauliflower. It cost us €4!and fed us all for lunch. Hopefully it doesn’t block our arteries too badly.