The ascent of Monte Pellegrino

There is not a Palermo inhabitant who, at least once in his life, has not climbed on foot to the top of Monte Pellegrino, the most beautiful promontory in the world according to the German poet Goethe when he arrived in Sicily in 1787 during the Grand Tour (XVII-XVIII century), one of those aristocratic popular trips in 1700 to discover the treasures of antiquity which had southern Italy as a privileged destination. The climb to Mount Pellegrino starts from the center of Palermo and reaches the top of the mountain where the sanctuary (17th century) built around the cave that was the home of the “Santuzza” Rosalia, patron saint of Palermo. From the mountain you can enjoy a spectacular view of the city of Palermo, surrounded by mountains and embraced by the sea. In this stretch traveled by the little girl with her mother and little brother, you have an exciting cross-section of Sicily: the lush and varied vegetation with prickly pears that cling everywhere, the white stone, the blue sky. At the top you can see the imposing neo-Gothic structure of Castello Utveggio (1928), once a luxury hotel.

(photo) Santa Rosalia shrine at the top of Monte Pellegrino, etching by de Saint Non, 1795