Palermo Part II - Monreale & Mondello

Tobias Heller
14. Nov. 2016
6 Min. Lesezeit

If it happens you are in Palermo there are two things which are actually not located in the center, but somehow it is possible to reach. As we are in Italy, and no, not in the North, but in the South, it may sometimes be a bit troublesome to get there - or back. Anyways once you manage to arrive at Mondello, you will have a nice bay with azure water that greets you by its wavy sparkling surface from above if you decide to walk down Montepellegrino. The second recommend spot is a the Cathedral di Monreale and is located in the same-named city Monreale.

Church & Viewpoint

Monreale - A cats jump from Palermo

Monreale isn't located far off the city center and reachable by bus that leaves about every 90 minutes - mostly, there is no guarantee. For my first ride there I decide to take my precious new bike I got from the Lady I work for, realizing soon after I leave the narrow streets of the center, that this wasn't the best idea after all. First of all, I need to cross over one of the main streets, which seems, at least from the location I end up, nearly impossible. I then decide to cycle along the street until a suitable crossing opportunity pops up in order to pass over there. The cars here are following each other disregarding to be in any of the supposed tracks, Vespas and motorbikes shooting suddenly past me from time to time, winding their way past the cars that are slowed down by the heavily with traffic loaded streets. I somehow manage to survive, and I am able to go straight ahead for 10 kms, until the road gradually begins to climb. At a certain point it gets quite steep, and I necessarily need to put on a lot of effort to go uphill, sweat starting to pour down in the still warm autumn heat. With a proper bike this supposedly wouldn't have been much of a deal, but with that old, rusty clattering bike it is not the easiest path. As I go uphill, a nice view over to Palermo opens up. Next time, better take the bus!

Monreale for me works the other way round like the Cathedrale di Palermo. Outstanding by it's fassade and details, towers and the wide outstretched Square in front of the church the Catedrale di Palermo offers a more modest and humble interior, whereas Monreale from outside doesn't seem overly impressive. As I was told before and prepared to not expect overly too much from the outside, I don't even start to compare it with the numerous cathedrals and churches I have seen on my way down to the south of Italy just by it's fassade.

Stepping out of the bright sunlight into the dimly lit church, my eyes need to adjust until I recognize what is in front of me. The first shapes that pop out do not seem to make the church special - simple columns, and straight, plain walls, without any stucco or elaborated figures attached to them which would give the walls life and plasticity. But then I realize that the walls decoration, although flat, are decorated in tiny ceramic tiles, displaying various scriptural scenes by an accurately detailed mosaic in gold. The half dome above the altar depicts an iconic jesus, those eyes seem to be following constantly no matter which side you stand on in the church due to an optic illusion. As I walk along the aisle, I absorb the different scenes and decorations and patterns.

Inside, the possibility is given to climb up to the tower of the church, which leads through a narrow tunnel that offers occasional windows that look inwards into the church, thereby offering new perspectives on the decorations. Once through, I find myself outside again, blindfolded once more by the bright sunlight and follow along a passageway that overlooks an inner courtyard. until further steps lead upwards and offer a tiny little cylinder shaped pavilion on top of the roof from where a wonderful view is given over to Palermo and it's coastline.

Outside I still have time, and look around the nearby streets, which are nice to look around, dotted with gorgeous little details amidst the rough streets. Before it gets too late I recollect my bike from the spot where I have hanged it, deeming it to be the safest place as it is situated directly in front of the cathedral where most people and tourists are. I unlock the chain, fasten it around the seat and sing my leg upwards, ready for the steep descent down and the traffic chaos that would wait for me in Palermo's center.

Beach & Strolling

Mondello - Azure Bay & A Walk from Monte Pellegrino

During my stay I have been several times at Mondello, which is a nice bay like beach in between two mountains, a bit further outside of Palermo. If you want to pay a visit, in my opinion the best way is not to go there directly by bus, instead prefer to take the bus up the Mont Pellegrino, a mountain at the westside of Palermo, those street leads upward in many turns. During the bus ride the most outstanding and best view over the whole of Palermo will open up while gradually climbing higher. The first time I went there with Jessica, it was a mere coincidence that we took this bus up there, the simple reason at that day was that we couldn't encounter the bus that takes the direct way to Mondello. After a nice panoramic bus ride, we arrive at Sanctuary Rosario and from there a slight declining way leads downwards. All the way down we find ourselves on a tarred street, with high yellowish green grass and fluffy plants to both sides, which is nice to walk however as it is closed for cars, we only meet an occasional motorbike or cyclist shooting downwards.

Soon the deep blue bay with a high mountain in it's background is to see, where a way leads upwards in a sick-zack flanked by houses. From above a building nestled into the water is visible as well as the soft beige sand, which instantly connects with the urge to put the feet into this fine heated up sand. Back and forth the way leads, declining softly and alternation into a U-Curve after several meter, which can give the feeling of making only slow progress even though the crystal clear water seems in close reach. Twice we have to go through a dark long tunnel, in which noises echo reverberantly from the rounded walls. Shortly before we think the end must be reached soon, the street swerves unexpectedly to the right, away from the desired location. We follow persistently, until the street makes a final long curve once more in order to lead us straight on to the Bay. The last bit of the way is the somehow most unexpected and weirdest. Once we pass through the fence that has been placed to prevent cars from going up the street, which was also the case when we started, the streets floor is littered with - what the... We just stepped into something what seems to be the hookup place of Palermo. Never have I seen so many open condom packages with their content similarly thrown around besides and various leftovers of tissues. Apparently, this is the place where guys seem to take their prostitutes in the car, after finishing solely throwing out the used equipment. This is somehow utterly gross, but also fascinating, and I am not able to avert my eyes from exploring the ground, where you can read entire stories as there start to be other various objects be lying around in between.

After this terrible segment of the way down, we are finally briefly before the act of taking our shoes off and putting our bare feet into the sand. The beach is nice and quiet, only for the reason that the main season has already finished and therefore it's beauty remains, as I have heard that in the main seasons in summer the beach transforms into a somehow ugly spoiled tourist vacation place, with the beach being clogged up not only by humans but also various small temporary shelters, box and houses. As here around this time only a few locals and less tourists are spread in the area to enjoy the sun and the wonderful beach, we fully embrace this and fully savor the emptiness.