What comes to mind when you think of Sicily and it’s capital, Palermo? For me, it was the mafia, pizza and cannoli and not much else. I am ashamed to admit that I didn’t know too much about its history, culture or natural beauty before our visit. So when we landed amidst mountainous outcroppings which arose directly from the beautiful Mediterranean sea, we knew this vision was way off.
Sicily is indeed poorer than the rest of Italy. Organized crime (Cosa Nostra), while not clearly visible, can be seen through its effects on the crumbling infrastructure and attitude of the people. However, this place is so much more than meets the eye. Where else in Italy can you see a husband, wife and kid riding a single moped weaving in and out of crazy traffic? Or the remains of crumbling buildings, still in disrepair from WWII bombs, interspersed with modern coffee shops? It seems that because of centuries of rule by different bodies – Normans, Arabs, Romans, Spanish, Italians and the mafia – the Sicilians choose which rules (if any) to follow and to ignore.
First of all, Palermo is fucking gorgeous with an interesting contrast of natural beauty and grimier urban life. Our friend Gio explained how Sicily has been largely shafted by the Italian government and Mafia corruption. With its natural resources, the island should be an agricultural and tourism powerhouse, but sadly the opposite is true. Still, we noticed more optimism about the future with the younger generation, who are trying to change the standard way of doing things. We attended an anti-pizzo concert, where Palermo youth rallied against paying protection money (pizzo) to the mafia. Another night, we hit up a street party with dj’s spinning minimal techno, a trendy crowd drinking among old buildings and spleen sandwich vendors. It could have been a scene from any cosmopolitan, modern European capital. So if youre thinking about visiting Italy and want a break from the hordes of tourists, visit Sicily – it rocks.
i just love you beautiful people/friends!!!
wish all the best of the world..have fun
Really cool insights. I’ve always thought it would be fascinating to island-hop between Corsica, Sardinia and Sicily to compare and contrast. Of course I would let go of any notion of French-ness and Italian-ness to let the islands shine through.
So how was the pizza?