Category: Architecture
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Your Most Complimentary Color
If you’ve been reading Experience Sicily regularly, you know that I love to immerse myself in the profound culture, ancient history and art, esoteric sacred rituals, and modern complexities of Sicily. But when it comes to serving our clients, along with my cousins in Bagheria and Palermo, we make it our business to research inns…
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Exhale in Monreale
Most people visit William II’s Cathedral at Monreale in the morning–but something to note is how beautiful it is in the evening when the sunlight is majestic on the 228 columns of the cloister. The inlaid lava stone designs (known as intarsias) create mesmerizing archways, while the peacefulness of the early 13th century corridors built…
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Caravaggio and Gelato
Italy is renowned for its public squares. And Ortigia, the island that was the center of life in ancient-Greek Siracusa, has one of the most beautiful piazzas you’ll love to relish. On Day 6 of Savoring Sicily (this September 22-October 4), after taking in the Caravaggio featuring Santa Lucia at one end and luxuriating in…
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Today, Wear Comfortable Shoes
On Day 4 of Savoring Sicily, you’ll start the morning by greeting the gods at Agrigento’s Valley of the Temples. First stop, the 5th century B.C. Temple of Juno (or Hera, if you are Greek!). This magnificent monument is just one of seven in the UNESCO World Heritage Site that spans 2 kilometers. So wear…
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Savor Sicily with Me
Join me this September 22 – October 4 for Savoring Sicily. Our multi-sensory, locally-seasoned 13 days will be spent savoring the stunning natural environment, basking in the fascinating history and culture, and relishing the fresh and exotic cuisines of Sicily. On Day 1, you’ll arrive at Palermo’s airport where we’ll pick you up and bring…
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Palermo’s Oasis of Tranquility
My favorite Norman, King Roger II, commissioned Palermo’s San Giovanni degli Eremiti (Saint John of the Hermits) in 1130. Completed in 1148, its red domes rise above a garden of citrus trees, roses, fichi d’india, jasmine, and other exotic plants. On Monday afternoon, we wandered through the pathways and cloister of this oasis of tranquility…
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The White House
This morning, I arrived in Sicily! I feel so blessed. I look forward to sharing my journey with you. Now, off to spend time with my family and get some much-needed rest. This house is in Sant’Elia, about five minutes from my cousin Evelina’s house.
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A Palace in Palermo
Palazzo (i.e. Palace) Galletti di San Cataldo on Piazza Marina in Palermo was constructed for an aristocratic family in 1866.
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Lace Up
Yesterday, I discussed a church without a ceiling (Lo Spasimo in Palermo). Today, I show you a church with an unforgettable ceiling–the Chiesa Matrice, or Mother Church, of Erice. Outside, this Norman-era building that was first constructed starting in 1314 is modest, yet elegant. Inside, the vaulted, neo-Gothic ceiling that was reconstructed during the 19th…