Quanno i balati ra Vucciria s’asciucanu … is a Sicilian expression that means, When the pavement of the Vucciria [market] is dry. In other words, we would say, When Hell freezes over. The irony of this well-known Palermitano idiom is that today, the significance of the Vucciria market is fading and the pavement, which was once constantly wet because of the bustling fish and fruit and vegetable stalls, is now often dry because of inactivity.