In Palermo’s historic La Kalsa quarter there are areas, dotted with young artisans at work. Piazza Aragona and Via Aragona are just two of these spots where small innovative workspaces can be found tucked in under old palazzi.

Belonging to ALAB, the association of Independent Artisans/Artists Balarm (Palermo), the artisans commit to the promotion of handmade art and ancient craft with a serious nod to the environment.

Whenever I exit Polizzi's Piazza Umberto 1 and enter the cobblestone and narrow Via Rampolla, towards Via Roma past Bar Orlando and low stone archways which lead to the courtyards of hidden doors, I feel transported.

Just a short distance past Bar Orlando though, the elevated façade of the Chiesa Madre, Santa Maria Maggiore, looms on the left and on the right, the imposing 16th century baronial palace Palazzo Galgliardo. (Here in front of the Chiesa Madre Via Rampolla becomes Via Roma.)

Catania: May 2014 Jazz pianist, late one  Saturday night in a bar around the corner from Catania's Opera House, Teatro Bellini.

Cefalu: June 2007

Medieval Cefalu, the pearl of the Madonie, is one of the idyllic spots to swim and linger on Sicily’s northern Tyrrhenian coast in the Sicilian summer.