february 2018
38°07′N 13°22′E
i travelled to Palermo on a whim. an old acquaintance, perhaps friend of mine offered to host me for the week and i just went.
i had little to no money to spare, but my appetite for photographs kept growing. i only told select members of my social network about the trip; my partner was not among them.
the madness of the sicilian port city did not disappoint. to put it bluntly, it came as a shock to count works of architectural art among piles of rubbish. every dilapidated street is loaded with the marvels of the old times, but you won’t find the well kept facades and memorial plaques typical of other (better-kept) italian cities.
within the cathedrals of Palermo you are likely to find a specific blend of moorish and italian architectural styles. there is no shortage of churches in the sicilian capital and each one boasts layers upon layers of decorative innovation, all from different eras. i mean this in a most literal way: look closely at a photo of Chiesa del Gesu (presented below) and you’ll discover a seemingly incoherent mix of styles. this spills out in the streets of Palermo, where worn out modernity meets historical colossi in a delicately balanced structure.
my acquaintance had rented out a room in an italian style housing complex with a small internal courtyard. what once had likely been a structure dedicated to two, maybe three extended families now hosted numerous tiny flats, though one could easily imagine the coming into existence of a self-contained community within its walls. my friend’s residence, however, certainly had… flaws. the fuse box was located right above their bed - if for any reason the electricity cut out, other members of the household would have to walk in on my friend - be it day or night - and flick the switches. this happened often: running an electrical heater would be a stretch, but adding a phone charger would definitely trip the fuses. the home had numerous other similarly hilarious issues, but for the sake of brevity i will be moving on.
i left Palermo feeling tired. not only because i had been walking continuously for a week, but because i’d have to face the other realities of my “regular” life. the relative secrecy of the trip had made it very special indeed, but i dreaded having to confess at some point.
more than a year later i would plan to return for a whole month. the vagaries of the pandemic would prevent it.
february 2018
38°07′N 13°22′E
i travelled to Palermo on a whim. an old acquaintance, perhaps friend of mine offered to host me for the week and i just went.
i had little to no money to spare, but my appetite for photographs kept growing. i only told select members of my social network about the trip; my partner was not among them.
the madness of the sicilian port city did not disappoint. to put it bluntly, it came as a shock to count works of architectural art among piles of rubbish. every dilapidated street is loaded with the marvels of the old times, but you won’t find the well kept facades and memorial plaques typical of other (better-kept) italian cities.
within the cathedrals of Palermo you are likely to find a specific blend of moorish and italian architectural styles. there is no shortage of churches in the sicilian capital and each one boasts layers upon layers of decorative innovation, all from different eras. i mean this in a most literal way: look closely at a photo of Chiesa del Gesu (presented below) and you’ll discover a seemingly incoherent mix of styles. this spills out in the streets of Palermo, where worn out modernity meets historical colossi in a delicately balanced structure.
my acquaintance had rented out a room in an italian style housing complex with a small internal courtyard. what once had likely been a structure dedicated to two, maybe three extended families now hosted numerous tiny flats, though one could easily imagine the coming into existence of a self-contained community within its walls. my friend’s residence, however, certainly had… flaws. the fuse box was located right above their bed - if for any reason the electricity cut out, other members of the household would have to walk in on my friend - be it day or night - and flick the switches. this happened often: running an electrical heater would be a stretch, but adding a phone charger would definitely trip the fuses. the home had numerous other similarly hilarious issues, but for the sake of brevity i will be moving on.
i left Palermo feeling tired. not only because i had been walking continuously for a week, but because i’d have to face the other realities of my “regular” life. the relative secrecy of the trip had made it very special indeed, but i dreaded having to confess at some point.
more than a year later i would plan to return for a whole month. the vagaries of the pandemic would prevent it.
