{"id":2034,"date":"2022-01-29T20:19:04","date_gmt":"2022-01-29T20:19:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/?p=2034"},"modified":"2022-01-29T20:19:04","modified_gmt":"2022-01-29T20:19:04","slug":"palermo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/?p=2034","title":{"rendered":"Palermo"},"content":{"rendered":"

Maybe you think that all Italian wines come from Tuscany and the Piedmont.\u00a0 You can find wine being made almost everywhere in Italy and the biggest wine producer is Sicily. If you decide to visit that island for wine tasting, make sure you also include history, art and food on your itinerary.\u00a0 You might arrive on a cruise ship or on a ferry, but most likely you\u2019ll fly in.\u00a0 And in that case you\u2019ll come into Palermo.\u00a0 Before you head out to the vineyards, you ought to see what this city has to offer.<\/p>\n

Now, Sicily generally and Palermo in particular have an image problem \u2013 the Mafia.\u00a0 Yes, there were and still are gangsters in Palermo just like we have them in US cities.\u00a0 In our travels, we never felt the heavy hand of the Mob.\u00a0 People did tell us that most of that had been cleaned up.\u00a0 It\u2019s mostly the tourists who want to see the places they know from the Godfather or take a trip to the nearby town of Corleone.\u00a0 If you\u2019re a tourist and want to see those things, go right ahead.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The Teatro Massimo<\/em><\/p>\n

But instead of remembering the fatal scene at the opera house, feast your eyes on the Teatro Massimo, the largest in all of Italy.\u00a0 It\u2019s a masterpiece of 19th<\/sup> century architecture inside and out.\u00a0 Even if you don\u2019t feel like taking in an opera, it\u2019s the grandest hanging out and meeting place in Palermo.\u00a0 So sit in one of the caff\u00e9s around the perimeter of the piazza in front of the theatre, or loll on the steps with the younger Palermians or watch a political protest arrive.\u00a0 You\u2019ll feel very much a part of the scene.<\/p>\n

Of course, you could go and see a grand performance.\u00a0 A word of warning: Climate change being what it is, it stays hot in Sicily later in the year than in the past.\u00a0 They didn\u2019t install air conditioning in the Teatro Massimo, so be prepared to perspire more than a bit.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Just one of the Four Corners<\/em><\/p>\n

Another sight not to miss in Palermo is the Four Quarters (or I Quattro Canti<\/em> in Italian).\u00a0 It\u2019s a crossroads with massive sculptures and fountains on each corner.\u00a0 They represent the kings who once reigned in Palermo and the city\u2019s four patron saints.\u00a0 Don\u2019t stand in the middle to see them all; these are heavily trafficked streets.\u00a0 But do wander about and take in each one in turn.<\/p>\n

Palermo may be the street food capital of the world.\u00a0 Wander through the back streets and markets and try a little of this or that.\u00a0 Maybe it\u2019s a good idea to ask what you\u2019re about to eat before biting.\u00a0 They make the most of every animal in Sicily.\u00a0 We\u2019re generally not big fans of tours, but you can find some street food tours that will take you everywhere and let you try everything (or at least everything you\u2019d like to try).\u00a0 But, oh, Sicilian pizza! And, ah, Sicilian gelati!\u00a0 And especially, oh my, Sicilian rice balls (or arancini)!\u00a0 Here they may be stuffed with meat and peas, or cheese, or tomatoes.\u00a0 They\u2019re coated with breadcrumbs and deep fried.\u00a0 Have some \u2013 you\u2019re too thin anyway!<\/p>\n

Then head around the island and try the wine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Maybe you think that all Italian wines come from Tuscany and the Piedmont.\u00a0 You can find wine being made almost everywhere in Italy and the biggest wine producer is Sicily. If you decide to visit that island for wine tasting, make sure you also include history, art and food on your itinerary.\u00a0 You might arrive … Continue reading Palermo<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2034"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2034"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2034\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2037,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2034\/revisions\/2037"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2034"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2034"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2034"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}