Page 150 - The Rough Guide of Sicily

– Palermitani come here at weekends and in summer to eat fish and seafood at the

harbourside trattorias, but the place is definitely nice enough to warrant a stay.
Fishermen have been working out of the port for centuries, and an old tonnara (tuna
fishery) is still preserved near the medieval Castello di Solanto, which guards one
side of the bay. It’s a real, working harbour, and Porticello’s fish market is one of the
most important in Sicily, with boats unloading here in the early hours before the catch
is shipped across Italy and beyond. Ice-house chutes channel ice into containers for the

fish, and boats and nets are still hauled under great stone arches back from the harbour
to be repaired.

ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE: PORTICELLO

By bus There is only one direct AST bus daily from Palermo to Porticello, so it’s

easier to take a bus to Bagheria and another to Porticello. The most convenient
services for a day-trip leave Palermo Piazza Lennon at 7am, 8am, 11am and noon,
with stops at Piazza Politeama, Via E Amari and Via Balsamo. Return buses from
Porticello to Palermo depart at 2.55pm and 7.55pm.

ACCOMMODATION AND EATING

Stenopus Greco 091 958 851 or 320 799 2011, stenopusgreco.com. Imbued
with real artistic flair by the charming owner Stéfano, this boutique dockside hotel is a
surprising find in such a working town, but is perhaps a sign of things to come if plans
for a new harbour and marina development for Porticello come to fruition. There are
eight lovely rooms in bold colours with terracotta floors and beamed ceilings, original

art above the handmade beds, painted ceramics and carved Indonesian chests. Three
have harbour-view balconies, others either partial harbour or town views. €70

< Back to Palermo and around

Piana degli Albanesi

Less than an hour’s bus ride south of the capital, PIANA DEGLI ALBANESI sits
placidly in an upland plain above a pleasant lake. The town was founded by fifteenth-
century Albanians uprooted from their homes in flight from the Turkish invasions, and

the six thousand inhabitants here still follow the Orthodox rite and proudly retain many
of their old traditions – signs are in Albanian as well as Italian, and on Sunday
mornings there are traditional Orthodox services in the three churches lining the
steeply sloping main street, Via Giorgio Kastriota. At Easter, out come the handsome
traditional costumes – black with gold brocade on Good Friday, brightly coloured on
Easter Sunday.

SICILY’S BANDIT KING: SALVATORE GIULIANO