PALERMO
Street markets bursting with fresh produce, outdoor flea markets, the dilapidated, historical buildings and one of a kind locals make this city a wild, mysterious and wonderful world of its own.
WHERE WE STAYED: KALSA
We stayed in Kalsa, a lively neighborhood in the center of Palermo known for its Byzantine mosaics on the local buildings and the historical Palazzo Abatellis. The neighborhood is full of compact alleyways which come alive in the morning with espresso bars and outdoor markets. At night, walk through the streets to find discreet wine bars and people posting up on the streets to enjoy, pulling out stools from the local cafes and creating impromptu dining rooms. The energy of this neighborhood is something we came to truly love and crave as soon as we left.
We found this location perfect as a home base, particularly charmed by restaurants/ bars nearby like dal Barone, Botteghe Colletti (pictured above) and Ferramenta, an old tool shop with original deep green original shelving repurposed to hold liquor bottles throughout an old store's interior.
There is a no end to the amount of creativity here. We stumble into a woodworkers workshop/ home nearby and buy several of his hand carved serveware made earlier that day. Another shop nearby, Edizioni Precarie has handmade stationary in a truly unique space.
MARKETS...
Perhaps the most noteworthy thing about Palermo is the amount of outdoor markets. Ranging from fresh fruits, vegetables, baskets, fabrics, tiles, antiques... you can simply find everything you were looking for as well as everything you weren't.
The outdoor markets are incredible, though we found them a bit overwhelming with the summer's heat (at the time experiencing a 45 degrees celsius heat wave) and the amount of tourists.
We'd suggest finding the smaller shops with locals selling their produce or products in a more specialized way, like the basket weaver found at the intersection of Via Tripoli and Via Volturno or the very end of Mercato del Capo for fresh juices and produce. We came daily for a fresh orange juice made right in front of our eyes.
ANTIQUES
We find ourselves in the antiques square at Piazza Domenico Peranni, 13a. This square with full of unique stalls, each owned and operated by locals that specialize in something different to the next. Here you can find a wide variety of antique Sicilian tiles, lighting, ceramics as well as furniture.
We spent a full day here, obsessively sorting through every stall. It was here where we decided to start a market finds collection on our website because of the sheer level of excitement we felt about our findings.
We found vintage vases with hand painted details on them, platters, plates, vases and vintage wine jugs. Each of the pieces had so many intricate details to them, entirely unique to really anything we've seen before.
Sicilian antiques are incredibly ornamental given their Islamic and Byzantine history and it comes through both in the architecture and in the objects. We try to bring back as much as possible with us to bottle this incredible energy of the city in a few objects.
A large platter we found in Palermo. Hand-painted fish design, equipped with a hook at the back and ready to be hung on a wall. This antique platter is full of character, with a natural patina shown throughout.
This Sicilian antique jug, we're calling him Alfredo, was likely used to store wine or olive oil. The jug is detailed with hand painted details throughout and ceramic shapes to make up eyes, a nose and of course an impressive mustache.