My first trip to Italy was to Palermo, Sicily. I went to teach English. It was an amazing experience. The photo above is of Fontana Pretoria located in Piazza Pretoria, also known as the Square of Shame.
Being from New York, Sicily offered a much slower-paced lifestyle. It was a lifestyle where the people enjoyed the simple things in life from food, wine, the beach, and of course pastries! Located directly behind the fountain is a secret entrance to a monastery filled with pastries that I would have overlooked had I not been taken there by a Sicilian. The shop is called the Secrets of the Cloister and is truly divine.
These pastries, called genovesi, are just one of many difficult options one is faced with upon entering. The soft, sugar dusted exterior filled with a sweet ricotta cream center is certainly nothing short of otherworldly. In short, it was very difficult to leave this place. I could've eaten them all and been 100% content with facing the consequences afterwards.
Just a short walk away
is the Cattedrale, a 900+ year old structure consisting of Norman, Moorish, Gothic, Baroque, and Neoclassical architecture making it truly unique.
It even hosts free symphonies in the dead of night. In fact Sicilians like to throw all kinds of events and parades at midnight and later. If you truly love theatre though, and happen to be in Palermo, you should venture to the Teatro Massimo, the largest theatre in Italy and featured in the Godfather movie trilogy.
On the way stop to watch some top notch street performances while eating arancine, panelle, or any of the other delicious street food choices!