“W Palermo and Santa Rosalia! ” is the only phrase you will hear on July 14th… … but let’s try to understand why this great devotion to the Saint has been going on for more than three centuries… On February 13, 1625, Santa Rosalia appeared on Mount Pellegrino to a man who lived in the Monte di Pietà district, who wanted to commit suicide because of the death of his fifteen-year-old wife. The Saint stopped him and told him that only if her remains had been taken in the procession and the “Te Deum Laudamus” had been sung, the plague would end, as the Virgin mary had said and promised. The man called his confessor, as Santa Rosalia had told him, and confessed everything he had seen….

Panelle, crocchè and pani ca meusa, sounds familiar when talking about Palermo? Our beautiful city, rich in history and art, offers an alternative way to discover the culture and traditions of Palermo: food! Today, I want to recommend 3 traditional dishes that you must try during your stay: panelle, crocchè and pani ca meusa . It was the Arabs, rulers of Sicily between the ninth and eleventh century, great gastronomic experts, to start grinding the seeds of chickpeas to obtain a flour that mixed with water and cooked over fire ended in a kind of raw dough … In time, the “panellari” masters from Palermo began to fry the dough and the first “panella” of the modern era was invented! It was a very poor dish eaten by…

The Massimo Theater is the biggest opera house in Italy and the third in Europe and was designed by architect G.B. Basile and his son Ernesto and built between 1875 and 1891. The style is eclectic Neoclassical, with a majestic staircase at the sides of which are placed two bronze powerful lions: one of them is the allegory of the Tragedy (opera by Civiletti), the other one of the Lyric (opera by Rutelli). From Dec.22 to Dec.29 , you can visit the Massimo Theater by night for just 1€ …it will be open until midnight! Wanna make this night tour more fun? Take part at the Photo Contest. How? Simply by taking pics of the inside of the theater (during these special nights) and posting them on Facebook…

Sfincione, panino with milza, arancina, panella… from Dec.15th to Dec.18th 2016, Palermo will become a heady open air kitchen where you can taste and experience flavors and culinary traditions from all over the world. The so “addisiato” (sicilian for “greatly desired”) international street food festival has officially begun and we are happy to be in the center of this tasty event!