Just visited the church San Gaetano in the Brancaccio district in the west of Palermo.
This was the church of Padre Pino Puglisi, who spoke out against the Mafia and so was killed by them in 1993.
http://www.padrepuglisi.it/
The district was described as poverty stricken, but was not as bad as I expected.
There are plenty of memorials to Padre Puglisi, both inside and outside the church building, so he has had an influence.
The outside of the stadium of my beloved Rosanero, the Palermo football team. The ground was locked. A helpful Italian man did his best to find someone to let me in to see the ground, but there was no one who could unlock it. Maybe I'll see a match there someday?
Visited the catacombs of the Capuchins in the north of Palermo. This has the bodies of dead monks, as well as others, who I assume were connected with the parish. The bodies are mostly partly preserved by the conditions in the catacombs, they are not just skeletons. Most are dressed in their clothes and some have name tags. There are pictures related to the Via Crucis, I assume this is prayed down there sometimes.
The tourist guide book says this visit us not recommended for young children, but there were plenty there, and a woman told me that local schools visit there all the time.
I visited the Palermo Cathedral, which is part of the history of Palermo since before the Normans were here. I think that is the reason for the variety of styles in the building. I started with walking on the roof, then decided to leave when a wedding started. They didn't need one more tourist watching them.
Just before I left the cathedral, I saw the shrine to Fr Pino Puglisi, who was shot by the Mafia in the Brancaccio district in the Eastern part of Palermo in 1993.
After several recommendations and 2 failed attempts (once full, once closing up for the afternoon), I finally had a meal at the Mangia è Bevi restaurant in Palermo
http://www.osteriamangiaebevi.it/
They were right. The food was full of flavour, service no nonsense and efficient and prices less than most of the tourist cafes. It took a while, so I made a meal if it:
Antipasta: crumbed eggplant (Tunisian style)
Primi: pasta with ricotta and pork
Secondi: tuna with tomato and olives
mmmmmmm.
I visited a former palace in Palermo, which had been used as a prison by the Inquisition. The prisoners wrote graffiti on the walls, which is surprisingly clear and neat.
One of the prisoners, Francesco Mannarini had converted to Islam, possibly under duress, then found himself back in Christian Sicily and before the Inquisition. A lose/lose if ever there was one.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/jan/14/arts.religion
They say Godfather 2 was the best, but Godfather 3 had the scene of the shooting on the steps of the Teatro Massimo in Palermo. Here are the steps, and the view from the Royal Box.
