Things Ro Do In Palermo Sicily

Palermo is the last stop on our Sicily road trip. While Taormina was all about beautiful views, Sicily's capital is a busy, working port city. Still, it definitely has its charms and if you love sweets and cannoli, a visit to Palermo must not be missed!

On the drive from Taormina to Palermo the coastline hugs the road, popping up when you emerge from mountain tunnels. We are headed to our last stop in our Sicily road trip. It's not the easiest driving in Sicily, probably the most challenging driving Mr NQN has ever done. It takes us 5 hours instead of the predicated 3 hours but we have finally arrived in Palermo.

It's hard act to follow romantic, picturesque Taormina and the gritty, chaotic working city of Palermo with its traffic and parking challenges has at first proven its charms elusive. This city is fast and busy. Palermo men are bold and try to solicit your attention. To avoid them, I step over a white pigeon squashed on a cobblestone by a minivan.

I'm on a mission here. I've left Mr NQN to rest at our accommodation after the long drive and I power walk towards a convent. Not for holy salvation but cannoli salvation.

I Segreti del Chiostro or "The secrets of the cloister" is said to produce Palermo's best (and biggest) cannoli. Palermo is pastry heaven and its cannoli can be up to double or triple the size of regular cannoli elsewhere.

The convent's delicious cannolis are no secret - the line attests to this although I happen to arrive during a small lull that rapidly grows behind me. To get here you arrive at Piazza Bellini and follow the crowds walking up several sets of stairs through exhibitions. There are people to guide you because while some people are here for the church, more are here for the pastries.

Upon entry you receive a number and when they call it you order and they pipe each cannolo fresh to order as they should be. In Palermo they only use sheep's milk ricotta in their cannoli giving it a stronger flavour. They hand you a receipt which you pay and then they hand over your beautifully wrapped pastries. Each cannolo is €3.50.

Most people take them to the gorgeous Secret Rose Garden outside. When I unwrap the packaging a woman sitting on a bench next to me, smiles and winks. She knows I'm in for a treat, probably having just had one herself.

I unwrap the paper and then the plastic that is holding the cannoli in place and pick it up. When I ordered it they asked what I wanted on top and I said "Everything!". One half's end is topped with choc chips and the other with chopped pistachio and candied orange peel. I take a bite, disloging some of the powdered sugar. The crunch is incredible, echoed by the texture of the choc chips and in subsequent bites, the pistachio. The ricotta filling is smooth and creamy and damn if this isn't the best (and the biggest) cannoli I've ever eaten. The shell still stays crisp a few hours later when Mr NQN tries it.

I also try a Cassatella di sant'Agata. Shaped like breasts, deliberately so, they are designed to honour Saint Agatha, the patron saint of Catania. She was a Catholic martyr who was tortured by having her breasts cut off with pincers. Her crime was refusing to marry the Roman prefect Quintianus, who, during the Decian persecution, denounced her for being a Christian. This Cassatella di sant'Agata is round and layered with sponge cake soaked in rosolio liqueur, filled with a rich mixture of sheep's milk ricotta. The exterior is coated in white icing and topped with a glace cherry.

After a nap Mr NQN is ready to go out to dinner so we emerge at 6pm when the lights turn on just before sunset. The streets are teeming with crowds-tourists from all over the world converge on busy Via Maqueda, the restaurant street lined with eateries. Many restaurants are open all day to accommodate the tourist trade. We were recommend Osteria Villena by Carm from our Sicilian Food Tour.

We don't have a booking but during shoulder season it is easy enough to get one of the prized outdoor tables along the street provided you arrive before 7pm and are in a small group. We take a seat and I already know what to order as I've already looked at the menu online. It's a Hugo Spritz for me, the elderflower spritz that I love so much.

Then we try the caponata with bread, I had read theirs is the best. It is very good although truthfully I think I preferred the one in Scoglitti during the food tour as the one at Villena has a lot more celery than eggplant and I don't really enjoy the bread.

I've never really loved Pasta alla Norma while in Australia but here I adore it. The pasta that always seems to be used is a paccheri that suits it perfectly. It's al dente just the way I like it and served with buttery soft eggplant chunks and a tomato base with salted ricotta grated on top.

Mr NQN's selection is the Sicilian Busiate pasta, a longish, corkscrew pasta with Sicilian pork sausage bolognese and ricotta on top. It's nice although there is a flavour in this that gives me pause. He prefers this while I prefer the Pasta alla Norma. We finish the meal with complimentary glasses of ice cold limoncello.

After dinner we cross the road to Ruvolo opposite for a gelato cone. We have a deal: we split a cone and pick one flavour each. I try a pistachio gelato and he chooses a fruit one. This works for us as I only never really eat a bit of gelato so he usually finishes it all.

At Ruvolo there is regular pistachio as well as another one covered with dark green pistachio cream. We choose this and it is nothing short of magical. The pistachio flavour is so strong with little crispy pieces for texture. The passion fruit tastes like a real passion fruit and mango gelato and we walk back to our accommodation and go to bed early in preparation for our early flight.

So tell me Dear Reader, where has been the best cannoli you've ever tried?

Note: I'm not featuring our accommodation because while it was very conveniently located, I just did not love it at all (despite the "Superb" 9 out of 10 rating).

Want more Sicily? Here is the entire Sicily series:

All food and accommodation in this post was independently paid for. NQN and Mr NQN travelled to Europe as guests of Vietnam Airlines.

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Cannoli Salvation in Palermo, Sicily

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About Lorraine Elliott