palermo

In every life, there are years that mark significant change. 2024 was such a year for us. We came to terms with the unexpected, abrupt end of liveaboard cruising and sold the boat, and most importantly, we celebrated the one-year mark beyond Todd’s stroke and having been given a second chance at life together. Why Italy? We sought somewhere where we could recognize Christmas and thank God for His gifts. Somewhat selfishly, we needed “our time.”

Now, since we speak very little (make that practically no) Italiano (or Latin 🤷 ), our options were to select a nearby Catholic church and feel but not understand the words or-r-r… find a church offering English-speaking services. Thanks to Gonzo and Yvonne back in Rome, we learned there are a few. Todd did a little research that led us to the Holy Cross Anglican Church, associated with The Church of England! On December 23, under cloudy skies, we drove a couple of hours northeast to Palermo to check into a hotel near the church.

Palermo was ready for Christmas, and the pretty hotel located among the cafes, restaurants, and shops was quite grand – the Grand Hotel Wagner, in fact. Not even the dreary weather could dampen our spirits once Todd haggled with a street vendor for a couple of umbrellas, making us all set to get about on foot.

Yes, shopping for gifts. Now what about that church??

In the early 1800’s, while Sicily was a British Protectorate, the colony of British merchants attended church services at the British Embassy or by relying on chaplains from visiting warships. By 1840, however, regular services of the Church of England were celebrated in Palermo in the home of the Consul for Sicily.

In 1871 two cousins announced their intention to build at their own expense a church in which Christians, whether residents or visitors to Palermo, could attend services of The Church of England. Many years later, those services included Todd and Susie Olsen and approximately 40 others on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning in 2024!

In 1872 the Whitaker & Ingham families began building the ornate chapel

After church we again popped open the umbrellas in a light rain and headed out to find the restaurant the hotel had reserved for us for Christmas dinner. We dried out while enjoying a tasty meal of typical Sicilian seafood dishes, topped off by a Palermo delight originally reserved for Easter, Cassata Siciliana. There are several different versions of the sponge cake dessert in the various areas of Sicily. Ours in Palermo was made with sweetened ricotta, chocolate chips, marzipan, and a sprinkling of candied fruit… along with a whole lot of YUM!

After three grey, drizzly days in Palermo, the skies finally began to clear as we made the return drive to our rental back on the beach in Menfi.

You know what’s fun about celebrating Christmas in a country that’s predominantly Catholic? It doesn’t end on December 25! Festivities continue for the 12 days of Christmas, signifying the time between the birth of Christ and the arrival of the Magi revealing Him as the Son of God sent to earth. As such, the crowds lessen but the celebration doesn’t conclude until the Epiphany on January 6.

Susie and Santa (discussing the gifts in those bags, perhaps?)

Beyond Christmas services and shopping, Susie had her eye on getting to one of the so-called “Living Nativity Scenes” she’d read about while researching Christmas in Sicily. One nearest to us was in the mountains east of Menfi in Cammarata. Short road trip time again!

On January 5, we met our host, Salvatore, who guided us through town to find a place to park the rental car so we could join him for a ride to the apartment in the blocked off historic area.

Not only was the apartment located just a few steps from the entrance to the Living Nativity Scene, but it had a fantastic view of Mount Etna off the back balcony.

The other side of Mt. Etna (from what we’d seen while in Reggio Calabria) – wait, you don’t see it?

We joined a crowd of more than three hundred or so folks at the top of the first hill, babbled our way through questions in broken Italian and answers in broken English to locate the ticket window and then joined the seemingly disorganized line awaiting entry. Turns out it wasn’t so disorganized after all. In an attempt at crowd control, the folks running the event simply limited how many people could enter at the same time.

Young, white-robed musicians (visible going up the hill) led the magi to the manger

There was the manger scene, of course, complete with live animals. And there were many reenactments of life as it had once been lived, along with samples of freshly made treats. Our favorite part, aside from the man loudly singing while stirring the large pot of Pasta Fagioli, was seeing the local young people getting involved in the demonstrations. Several young boys happily tried to teach Todd how to roll pasta!

After the Living Nativity Scene, we returned to the apartment to don warmer clothes before heading to a late dinner. Well, 8pm is late for us, not so for the Italians. When Susie originally requested 7pm, our host who’d booked the table for us laughed and said they’d just be getting started at 10pm, to which Susie said we’d be at home asleep with full bellies by then. Ha!

At the apartment before dinner – Buon Natale!

The walk was way downhill… think a short mile down a couple hundred feet! The meal was wonderful. After meeting a family from California who recently bought a house here, Todd had a delicious burger and Susie mowed through pasta with sausage! Then, the hike back up! Burn, baby burn! 🏃‍♀️

We carried our overnight bags out of town to the rental car parked on a nearby bridge

So, on January 6, the Epiphany, a day of traditional feasting, Todd looked for and found a restaurant in the middle of…? Not sure but somewhere near Agrigento!