Palermo has a population of 700,000. The island has a population of 5 million.
The port has the 7th largest dry dock in the world. This ship was being worked on. Looks like they are inserting cabins.
We took another bus tour today. Things are starting to all look the same! 😃
We drove up to the top of a mountain to a lookout point. Nice views of the city and the port.
This castle like building is way up on a mountain and must have spectacular views. It was never acastle, but was built as a luxury hotel in the 1920s. It closed down during WWII, and later reopened as a management training center. It is now vacant. What a shame.
This is one of the most popular beaches, just outside the city because of the white sand. The water colors were beautiful!
It was another warm, sunny day, and it was busy. The chairs belong to a club, and you have to belong to sit there. Most were empty, sad!
During the 18th century Sicily thrived under King Ferdinand. Chinese architecture was in vogue in Europe, so he build this hunting palace in his private hunting park.
We stopped and were treated to Italian Ice as part of the package. Yummy!!
This monument is in memory of all the victims of the Sicilian Mafia.
We drove by the Palermo Opera House. It is the largest in Italy, and sure was impressive. It was featured in the movie Godfather III.
Our guide gave us some history on the mafia in Sicily. It began around the early 19th century, and thrived for over 200 years. They even had a summit with The New York dons to broker a deal for drug trafficking. The police ignored it.
In 1982, two magistrates cracked down on the operation, and 200 members were convicted and sent to jail. Those two judges were later assassinated.
The mafia still exists, but are much reduced. They mainly focus on drugs, money laundering and political corruption.
Another interesting day. Tomorrow is a sea day as we head towards Greece.
This cutie greated us today. What do you think? Rhino, hippo, ???
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