Friday Photos ~ Sicilian Markets ~ May 13th, 2016
We just returned from our Sicilian adventure, and after spending eleven days driving around the entire island, the one thing that impressed me most about Sicily is the availability of fresh ingredients. There seems to be a vegetable and fruit stand on every other corner, and fresh seafood stores everywhere. As we drove through many small towns, we came across daily markets, while the larger cities such as Palermo and Catania have permanent markets that sell just about everything.
The freshness of the ingredients sold, as well as the reasonable prices, surprised me considering Sicily is an island, and things not grown locally have to be shipped in. I think the Sicilian people are very lucky, and I certainly know that if I lived in Sicily, I would take full advantage of the abundance of fresh ingredients!
When we checked into our hotel in Palermo, the concierge gave up a map and instead of marking the typical historical things tourists usually visit, he marked out the easiest routes to Palermo’s famous markets, the Ballaro, the Capo, and the Vucceria. Although Palermo was perhaps my least favorite city in Sicily, I could have spent days exploring those markets!
Over the next few days, I will be posting a recap of our trip, tips for traveling in Sicily we learned on our travels and sharing some of the hotels and restaurants I’d recommend. I also need to edit the almost six hundred photos I took on our trip to choose the best ones to share. Until then, enjoy this short photo journal of some of the market finds in Sicily that caught my eye.
Outdoor stand in Taormina.
Sicilian Oranges are the BEST!
Look at the size of the swordfish and tuna!
Stand after stand with just about any fruit and veggie you could want.
Snails anyone?
Being an island, Sicily certainly does not lack for fresh seafood.
Oh, and do not get me started on Sicilian cheese……
How is THIS for a zucchini? The famous Sicilian cucuzza.
It seemed no matter what market we visited in Palermo this sfincione truck was there selling slices of this delicious Palermo style Sicilian pizza.
Along with fresh ingredients, the markets in Palermo also sell prepared foods. This display enticed us in for lunch.
Our Palermo market lunch!
Of course after lunch, one needs a little something sweet?
Deborah Mele
May 13th, 2016
Ciao Deborah!
Your photos are wonderful..my mother in law, Antonina was from Trapani and she would always make delicious Sfincione and Caponata! I miss her…seeing your photos helped me appreciate all the stories she would recount about her life and food in Sicilia..I am from Calabria and hope to visit Sicilia one day in the future as my children would love to see from where their ancestry is. Thank you!
Thanks Rosetta, we love Calabrian food as well since my husband’s family is from Calabria.
Thank you for sharing these pictures. How lucky you are to experience this. Beautiful!!
ooks lovely but not at all like the Sicily I visited 2 years ago, full of litter everywhere, even plastic bottles and bags littering the approach to Mount Etna, Catania was filthy, the only real gem for us was taormina so lovely, the mafia have a lot to answer for.
Carole, we found the smaller towns charming, but I wasn’t impressed with either Palermo or Messina. There was a lot of garbage along highways but we see that here up north as well.
Being Sicilian, I was hoping for more recipes other than the Chicken, which I will make soon. Love your blog.
There are these Sicilian Recipes posted up to now, but after our trip I plan on posting lots more so check back.
Deborah, your photographs are extraordinary! You have a gift!
Thank you Mary! I try and am always learning.