The sacred celebration of Easter, where watching a Good Friday procession filled with reverence and wonderful robes was a chance to witness passion and tradition.

And lunch at Al Faro Verde at Santa Flavia, seated at a window looking to the Tyrrhenian Sea, and some old fishing boats close by, days in beguiling Palermo staying only a few steps from the UNESCO heritage listed cathedral, driving back roads into hamlets and to villages at the foot of Etna where the faded green of worn doors and a painted house facade looked clear in the spring light.

Good Friday, Polizzi Generosa

Boats along the Tyrrhenian Sea at Santa Flavia

Tyrrhenian Sea, Santa Flavia

Cathderal of Palermo

Green doors in or near Bompietro

Piedimonte Etneo on the slopes of Mt Etna

Mist, Ionian Blue and Arab Norman pattern

And the vibrant blues at Casa Cuseni in Taormina (one of my favourite houses in Sicily) are a perfect nod to being by the sea in the sunshine.

Low mist in the Madonie where the pine trees are tall and deep green and the mountain roads silent. Savouring worn facades of fabulous baroque palaces, and the intricate geometric patterns of Arab Norman architecture decorating the enormous apse at the back of the capital’s cathedral.

The road to Piano Battaglia in the Madonie Mountains

Casa Cuseni, Taormina

Palermo palazzo

Arab Norman detail , Palermo cathedral

A medieval path, Flemish painting, and being in Polizzi Generosa

Seeing the sublime 15^th century triptych in Polizzi’s mother church through closed iron gates (one day, on the way to lunch I called in and the the iron gates were locked shut) the colours and figures of the painting, attributed to the Flemish master Rogier van der Weyden, are glorious.

Visiting villages in the Madonie and finding the most wonderful medieval scene at the back of the lovely village of Petralia Soprana.

And, living in Polizzi Generosa close to the Madonie Mountains for a while. Where I enjoy local food, quiet streets, views, centuries' old buildings and a bit of everyday Sicilian life.