I would like the first post of this site to be on Mondello.

 

Mondello is THE gulf of Palermo, located at the end of the "Parco della Favorita" and connected to the city center by the long tree-lined avenue that belongs to the same park.

The beach is characterized by a bright and very fine sand and the water has a splendid blue color,  that is very bright too, to the point that when you are there you do not stop for a moment to ask yourself if you really are in the city or if you have been miraculously transported to a distant Caribbean beach.

In addition to the spectacular gulf, Mondello is known for its various Art Nouveau villas - also treceable in other parts of the city of Palermo - that can be identified both in the contingent part on the beach and in its inner part.

The whole gulf offers many recreation and relaxation possibilities to its visitors, be they residents or tourists.

There are meeting points for the night, beach volley playing fields, and many cafe or restaurants where to eat typical. Among the things I personally consider the most typical to be eaten in Mondello, there are the brioche with ice-cream and the boiled octopus together with oysters, all strictly eaten seated on the beach with some friends, while you let yourself be warmed by the sun.

 

It does not matter if there are 30 degrees and everyone is in the water or if it is full winter: at the first ray of sunshine that comes up even on the most gloomy days, Palermitans run to sit on the beach, with or without beach towel (called "tovaglia"!) and to admire the view.

 

In my opinion, the authentical magic of the sea lies in the almost silent dance of the waves that never stops and does not need more music than the one produced by the Movement of water; this Movement is able to absorb all the surrounding sounds and make that place ethereal, even on the busiest summer days; that Movement is also capable of absorbing negative thoughts, bad moods and unpleasant sensations of those who observe it and, in this "absorbing", it restores peace and joy.

This is the real magic of the sea.

And the inhabitants of Palermo do not miss a chance to enjoy this enchantment. Us Palermitans are made of sea, that same water that gently wets the shore flows inside us and it is every time able to give us emotions, when we pass the park leaving behind us the green and we immerse ourselves in the totalizing blue. Emotions very familiar to us, but each time shocking and different, as if they create an addiction. And indeed we are addicted to the sea: every time we move away from it, we feel those waves becoming more violent wihtin us and we can only placate ourselves looking at that element, that is such as safe harbor to us.

Mondello is part of us.

Mondello always changes and never changes.

Mondello lets you go, but awaits you and becomes more beautiful and welcoming every time.

Mondello is blue, but each time you discover different shades of this color.

Mondello is alive, but you let yourself be absorbed by its silent immensity.

 

Perhaps this is why great determination and fortitutine are recognizable in the Sicilians: because we are made of the sea.