Bella Palermo™

Cannoli, arancini, sfincione and brioche stuffed with vanilla gelato – this is Palermo!!!  Shop with the Chef and learn how to make fresh pasta with ancient grains and arancini – Sicilian rice balls, and sfincione – Sicilian pizza, with Chef Enzo!  Discover bella Palermo in hands-on cooking and shopping with the chef while discovering ancient landmarks in Sicily’s capital. 

Bella Palermo is a city filled with history, culture, architecture and Sicilian cuisine. During your stay, visit the ancient outdoor markets – La Vucciria and Capo – where artisans sell farm-to-table produce, fruit and vegetables, wine, cheese and fish and meat.  During your stay, shop with the chef, enjoy Sicilian Street Food like panelle, delicious chickpea flour bites, crocché, Sicilian potato puffs flash-fried to a golden crips and arancini, rice balls stuffed with cheese, meat and tomato sauce.  When you are not in the kitchen, visit Palermo’s majestic landmarks, the Palazzo Normanni, a palace and museum, the Martorana, the Cappella Palatina, the Quattro Canti and Palermo’s grand square with symmetrical fountains.

Palermo Cooking Classes

Tie on your apron and learn to cook like a Sicilian with Chef Enzo using seasonal ingredients from the market. Sicilian antipasti tempt with involtini di melanzane, stuffed eggplant rolls, and fagioli alla menta, marinated white bean salad with fresh mint. Using ancient and traditional grains, you will roll out fresh pasta con le sarde, pasta with fresh sardines, tossed with golden raisins, pine nuts and wild fennel and pasta alla Norma, pasta prepared with eggplant stewed in a simple tomato sauce with ricotta salata.  Sicilian fish recipes wow with involtini di pesce spade, slices of swordfish stuffed with pine nuts, raisins, breadcrumbs, anchovy filets, orange juice, lemon juice and pecorino cheese.  Enjoy Sicilian desserts such as cassata, a cake made with fresh ricotta and Sicilian fruit, pignoccata, sweet puffs of dough covered with honey and biancomangiare, a milky almond custard topped with pistachios!

Palermo

Palermo is filled with ancient monuments reflecting the city’s rich and diverse history, and the many cultural and natural attractions make for a cultural experience for those who want to explore.  Visit the Cathedral, a honey-colored Catalan-church, the Quattro Canti, an octagonal Baroque square called the Piazza Vigliena!  Discover La Martorana church, a Byzantine masterpiece, the Museo Archeologico and the Catacombe dei Cappuccini.

Visit the Palazzo dei Normanni, Royal Palace of Palermo, standing at the highest point of the ancient city center. Once serving as the seat of the Kings of Sicily during the Norman conquest and its beautiful Norman chapel. There is the Teatro Massimo, the largest opera theater in Italy and featured in the movie Godfather: Part 3.

Ancient history, beautiful landmarks, a rich culture and Sicilian cuisine are the ingredients in a one-of-a-kind cooking experience.

Palermo & The Capo Market

This ancient market of Palermo, called Capo Market, is set in the heart of  the Arab quarter of the Schiavoni, called Seralcadio, which started under the rule of the Normans.  Narrow streets and alleys curve and cross leading visitors through not only a maze of venders selling traditional Sicilian street food, but a doorway into Palermo’s colorful past.  The entry to the Capo Market begins at the Porta Carini;  the original arch dates back to the 13th century.  The market is a stage as venders shout out their daily specials, locals shop while enjoying Sicilian street food and everyone converse about their family recipes.  Fish venders display their swordfish, singsong voices of vendors announce their vegetables, fruits, cheeses and spices, while artisan bread makers, pastry bakers and vintners dole out their delicious goods

Palermo Luxury Accommodations 

Your elegant 4-Star boutique hotel is ideally situated in the heart of Palermo–over 50 historical sites are within close walking distance. Recently restored and keeping the ancient architecture – the rooms are furnished in a modern and refined style and are tastefully decorated with fine Sicilian linens, bedding and décor. Each room comes with an en-suite bathroom, mini bar and individual air conditioning, to ensure your stay is comfortable and relaxing. Breakfast is served each morning – including local pastries, seasonal fruits, cured meats, eggs, and freshly squeezed Sicilian orange juice to name a few – and daily maid service is included for your convenience. The professional and helpful staff is always ready to assist you with any needs you may have during your stay. Rooms are also available for guests with special disabilities, just ask when reserving.

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Itinerary Palermo ~ 5 Days

Day 1: Benvenuto & Chef’s Tasting Dinner

• Pick-up and transfer from Palermo airport or train station to the property.
• Arrival & check-in.
• In the evening, enjoy a full-course Chef’s Tasting Dinner featuring Sicilian cuisine at our favorite local restaurant. (Wine, drinks, grappa and an assortment of after-dinner digestives are not included and are available at a surcharge.)

Day 2: Shop with the Chef Market Tour & Cooking Class 1

• Breakfast is served.
• After breakfast, meet Chef Lina for a Shop with the Chef Market Tour learning about Sicilian ingredients and experiencing the sights, sounds and scents of the market.  Our chef selects the freshest seasonal ingredients for the cooking class.
• Following the Shop with the Chef Market Tour, head to Chef Lina’s kitchen for your first hands-on cooking class featuring a traditional Sicilian full-course menu and Palermo cuisine.
• After the cooking class, lunch follows on the foods prepared in the cooking class with wine included.
• Take the rest of the day to visit, shop and explore on your own.
• Dinner is on your own with suggestions provided.

Day 3: Capo Market Sicilian Street Food Tour & Tasting

• Breakfast is served.

• Meet Chef Lina for a tour of the famous Capo Market, including a guided tour with Sicilian street food tastings with coffee, and delicious pastries served in the convent.  Experience the Capo Market and its ancient traditions with our local Chef while soaking up the culture of this ancient city.

• Afternoon free and dinner on your own.

Day 4: Cooking Class 2 – Traditional Sicilian

• Breakfast is served.
• After breakfast, head to the kitchen for a traditional Sicilian cooking class and learn how to prepare arancini, small rice balls filled with meat, peas and red sauce, sfincion, Sicilian pizza, caponata, eggplant, pine nuts, raisins and vinegar. Vermicelli alla Siciliana, vermicelli pasta, garlic, tomatoes, eggplants, sweet peppers, olives, capers, anchovies, and basil, pasta ‘ncasciata served in a beef ragu with eggplant and mozzarella; sarde a beccafico, small fish stuffed with pine nuts and dessert to name a few.
• Following the cooking class, everyone enjoys lunch together with a toast of local Sicilian wine include.
• In the afternoon, take time to explore, shop or visit any one of the local museums or landmarks.
• Evening free and dinner on your own.

Day 5: Checkout & Ciao

• Breakfast is served.
• Checkout & departure transfer to Palermo airport or train station.