Santa Caterina- Palermo

A few hundred yards from our hotel is the church of Santa Caterina.
Even by the standards of Sicilian baroque this is wildly exuberant with every inch of this vast building either painted or decorated.

This afternoon in complete contrast we visited the catacombs more out of curiosity since most places in Palermo are closed on a Sunday afternoon.

We were confronted with the dried up bodies of hundreds of monks women children hanging from the walls. It was like something out of a grotesque horror movie.
The skulls looked like heads from a Goya painting.

We are beginning to understand Palermo way of life, something the guide books had hinted at.
For example our restaurant is closed - no warning- trains we have been advised against since they have no predictable timetable and building labelled closed at set times , well that may or may not be true.
It reminds me a but of the way of life in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland.
They can be a law unto themselves.

( apologies for not commenting - still no Internet access or free wi fi though big signs up advertising it so am on data roaming.).Sent from my iPhone