Buon Giorno,
I didn't get a lot of sleep, but I'm used to jet lag and I know I can cope. I'm getting to know my area of the city, and I did not get lost today at all. I'm close to the historic center, but not within it, so I have to walk about twenty minutes to reach the sites. This is fine with me as I do come to Europe to walk.
Palermo reminds me a lot of Naples. Both cities have a ramshackle charm. I have to walk warily as the side walks are torn up. Some buildings are grand. Others are attractive, but many are shabby, and some are complete wrecks. Welcome to Southern Italy!
I decided that a good activity for the day would be a visit to the Antonino Salinas Regional Archeological Museum, which boasts of its status as the oldest museum in Sicily. Not everyone shares my taste for antiquities, but I do find such things fascinating, and the exhibits are well displayed and explained. Moreover, the museum is housed in a former convent, so wandering around the cloisters is enjoyable on its own.
Sicily, being a highly fertile island (Thanks, Mount Etna!) has attracted human habitation from early days. The island got its name from the Sicel tribe, but the place entered into history when the Phoenicians arrived, bringing their newly devised alphabet with them. The museum features quite a bit of their pottery and votive objects as well as some inscriptions. One thing I had never seen exhibited before were the projectiles used by slingers in battle. They are lethal looking nuggets of metal, and the slingers were highly trained and could be deadly.
The Greeks were not far behind, and most of the museum is given over to their remains from various periods. In particular the Greek colonies on the island gave a special devotion to the Goddess Demeter and her daughter Kore or Persephone. There are some splendid red figure vases as well as a host of everyday objects. Here's a lion head from a tomb.
Then we have Etruscans, who didn't settle in Sicily, but certainly traded and the Romans who eventually conquered the place and used it as their bread basket. Some of the Roman remains are truly impressive--massive (and heavily restored) statues of various gods and emperors.
On my way back I proceeded down Via Roma, one of the main drags, and ran into some kind of auto rally. Vintage cars from the mid Twentieth Century roared by apparently competing to see which engine could make the biggest racket.
Ciao for now
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