Travel Broadens the Mind: What Palermo Taught Me About "Bitter and Sweet"
Palermo is a city of contrasts. It's a place where the grandeur of a Norman palace is the backdrop to a daily market full of bustle and hustle. Where you’ll find 48 naked statues dancing around a fountain just outside the door of a convent. It’s where echoes of ancient history mingle with political demonstrations and vibrant, modern energy. Where three bars on the same street competitively pump out African beats, high-energy pop tunes and opera. Opulent Baroque churches reveal layers of Arab-Norman influence, a testament to the city's diverse and complicated past. This is a city where well-worn elegance meets raw, unfiltered authenticity and where every corner offers a glimpse into a culture shaped by the complexities of conquest and resilience. It is this very contrast that gives Palermo an undeniable charm.
It’s a place where vibrant pink meets dark black, reflecting its "bitter and sweet" personality. You see this vividly at a futbol game at the Stadio Renato Barbera. The stadium erupts in a sea of pink, a sight that would make any breast cancer awareness campaign proud, a testament to the fervent support for Palermo's premier league team, the Rosanero – the Pink and Blacks. And their flag, a checkerboard of pink and black squares, has become a symbol of the city itself.
That "bitter and sweet" description of the team's colors is also a fitting description of the city's history. This unusual color scheme for a sports team dates back to 1907, chosen by one of the club's founders who poetically described pink and black as "colors of the bitter and the sweet." Perhaps he was alluding to the unpredictable results of the team, the rollercoaster of wins and losses. Maybe he was expressing a deeper truth about Palermo, a city whose history and culture are a mixed array of light and shadow.
Palermo, and Sicily as a whole, occupies a unique place in the Italian consciousness. More than just loyal futbol fans, the people of Palermo are fiercely proud of their Sicilian identity, a pride well rooted in its difficult history. As far back as 200 BC, Sicily has been treated as the Italian “breadbasket,” with its resources and people exploited to feed the wealthy cities of the empire. Even today, there's often a common reaction across Italy - disdain for the cultural differences in the south, their contributions to the country, and, of course, the ever-present shadow of the mafia.
I'm drawn to underdogs (I often cheer for the losing team and am frequently the advocate for the misunderstood), so Sicily piqued my curiosity. Seeking early spring sunshine and a deeper understanding of a place and people who identify as Sicilian first and Italian second, my husband and I embarked on a three-week journey across Sicily with an extended stay in Palermo.
It was Marco, one of our great walking tour guides, who truly illuminated the meaning behind the Pink and Black. He was a bit younger than me and told stories of growing up in the 80’s and 90’s, which was a period of relative unrest in Sicily. The pink, he reflected, represents the sweet, beautiful side of Palermo: the majestic theatres with their shimmering gold leaf facades, the vibrant open-air markets overflowing with incredibly fresh food, the friendly, social atmosphere, and the sun-drenched weather that warms the skin and soothes the soul.
The black, on the other hand, is the “shit.” Literal (watch where you step!) and figurative. The chaotic, often terrifying way people drive, the mountains of trash that pile up in the streets, the ever-present poverty, and the heavy weight of organized crime all contribute to the persistent struggle of Sicilian life. While tourist brochures might highlight the golden beaches and ancient ruins, Palermo refuses to hide its realities, which are as much a part of the city as its stunning architecture and vibrant markets. Proud, irreverent, no shame, as real as it gets.
In conversations with other travellers, I’ve found that people either deeply love all of Sicily or only like the luxury, high-end experiences found in tourist-friendly towns like Taormina or Cefalu. I appreciate the honesty of the pink and black. I've seen cities and even countries wear a carefully constructed pink veneer, pretending, like an Instagram influencer, that life is nothing but rainbows and roses. But the truth is we all have our bitter and our sweet. And when it comes down to it, the whole story, the messy, beautiful, complicated truth, is always the best story.
How Travel Broadens the Mind
Discomfort is an important part of travel. Beth Santos, a true changemaker in the travel industry and author of Wander Woman, suggests that there are three essential components required to have the kind of travel experience that is “transformational,” ones that impact and shape who you are and how you see the world (and yourself).
Challenge your preconceptions. In Sicily, I made the effort to learn about the context behind the southern Italian reputation, which helped me question the narratives I’d picked up from movies, books, and friends.
Try something new. This is always my jam, and, admittedly, it comes easier for me than other people. Do it: try the squid ink arincini in Sicily!
Get uncomfortable. Being outside your comfort zone is the third and critical ingredient for great travel! There is no way to avoid some form of travel discomfort: not fitting in, plans going sideways, seeing things that confront your values, realizing something about yourself that feels icky, and/or cultural or political differences that aren’t how things work at home.
Quite frankly, I needed to be in Sicily for three weeks (and Palermo for 11 days) to work through some of my unwelcome but existing biases, preconceptions, and discomfort. Embracing Palermo's 'bitter AND sweet' has reminded me how important it is to be an open-minded traveller and has taught me that this sometimes takes some patience! To truly appreciate a culture, I now have a better appreciation for looking beyond the curated facade and embracing the whole story — the messy, beautiful, and complicated truths that make a place unique.
I truly loved Sicily. Read about my visit to the small city of Trapani - here.
Check out my favourite novels set in Italy for some inspiration - here. There is one set in Sicily!
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