On Our Own in Palermo - Time for the Catacombs?

Sunday morning, May 18, 2025

We had half the day to ourselves in Palermo before meeting our tour group, so what would be the best use of our time? I know! The Capuchin Catacombs of Palermo.

We decided not to wear ourselves out early, nor spend limited time before the site closed, by walking out to the site, so we asked our hotel clerk how much she'd estimate we ought to pay for a taxi to the Catacombs. We had heard it's best to negotiate a price in advance rather than leave the driver to his own devices. But negotiating in Italian or Sicilian didn't seem within our powers. The clerk clearly didn't want to offer a price but guessed around 15 euros, with a you-just-got-in the-cab starting fee of 5.

Well, I didn't get a look at the meter until we were underway, but I'm pretty sure the driver goosed the meter with another 5 right after he started to move. It didn't make sense that we'd only gone about a block and were already up to 10 euros on the meter. Gullible tourists. I watched the meter like a hawk the rest of the way. When we scrambled out, we were glad he at least drove us directly to our destination.

Mary's about to enter the catacombs here, where we weren't allowed to take photos anymore:

I think we were expecting maybe some piles of skulls in a low, dark cave. That was definitely not the plan for these monks. The hallways were wide and well organized. Many of the bodies, full skeletons, were mounted as if they were standing next to each other, wearing the clothes they wore in life. We were also surprised by the number of regular people from the not-too-distant past (1870s?), not just the monks, who were entombed in the catacombs.

Here's one creepy photo of some of the monks from times gone by:

More information and photos are here: Capuchin Monastery

After emerging from the catacombs, we thought fresh air and sunlight might be a good idea, so we strolled around part of the garden above.

The cemetery was peaceful and welcoming, dotted with family mausoleums, graves and memorials.

Similar to what we saw in Greece, we appreciated the custom of including photos of the dearly departed on the graves.

Visiting on a Sunday morning, we found the cemetery bustling with family members (we assume) taking care of the graves - clearing away wilted flowers and replacing them with fresh bouquets.

The florist stall just outside the gates was doing a brisk business.

We had plenty of time to enter the city through Porto Nuovo, grab a bite to eat at a sidewalk cafe and stroll back to our hotel before the tour group meeting.  To be continued...

- Christine