Press Release
The 8th Annual "Le Vie dei Tesori/The Streets of Treasures" Festival
A New Art and Cultural Festival in Palermo, Sicily in October 2014,
70 sites open to the public for 1 euro, 100 events with Artists and Fascinating People
PALERMO. Throughout the month of October 2014 both Palermitans and tourists will have the
rare opportunity to discover a very unique Palermo. During all four weekends of October (Friday 3,
Saturday 4, Sunday 5; Friday 10, Saturday 11, Sunday 12, Friday 17, Saturday 18, Sunday 19, Friday
24, Saturday 25, Sunday 26). The city will be the star of the "Le Vie dei Tesori" Festival ("The
Streets of Treasures Festival"), opening her doors to aristocratic palaces, multiethnic
neighborhoods, the city underground and to her complex history. There will be many tailor-made
itineraries to discover Palermo's "treasures," many of which were unknown.
The Festival, spread out over 60 locations across the city and beyond, is offering 100 events
(conferences, encounters with artists and experts; shows, concerts, etc.), including trips to the
Madonie Mountains and the region of Belice. This Festival is the result of a synergistic relationship
between public and private sector institutions that have created a network of thirty institutions and
associations here in the Palermo. Some of the participating institutions are the University of
Palermo, with its wealthy, heritage palace-compound, historic gardens and science museums; the
Diocese of Palermo, with its beautiful churches and crypts; the Port Authority of Palermo, with its
docks, antique stores and the Castello a Mare, and its defense garrison which was recently rescued
from abandonment and ruin; and of course, the City of Palermo, with her monuments. All these
treasures will be accessible to the public through guided tours which will take place from 10 am to 6
pm and can all be enjoyed by purchasing a book of 10 tickets for 10 euros (2 euros for entrance to a
single event). For visitors, this is a unique opportunity to experience an "open city" in every sense
of the word, through a series of itineraries tailored to individual tourists, families, children and the
disabled. A Palermo that will be fed by the richness of its places; its literary and historical glories
as well as by thematic gatherings and theatrical performances taking place within its treasures.
The 8th Annual "Le Vie dei Tesori/The Streets of Treasures" Festival will revolve
around five main themes directly related to open spaces for the event:
a) HERESY, addressed in all its facets from religion to the economy through music and social
engagement; a theme that unites several places, including the prisons of the Spanish Inquisition in
the Steri, unique in the world as the only building that has been preserved and restored. Inside, the
walls completely-covered with the writings of prisoners, victims of religious and political
oppression reveal the life of the tortured. This prison was in use in Palermo for three centuries,
from the late fifteenth century to the end of the eighteenth century, and is considered by some to be
where and how the mafia was created.
b) THE UNDERGROUND CITY, through an evocative route through several thousand years of
history, from the Capuchin Catacombs of Palermo to the Qanat, underground aquaducts and caves
that bring fresh water to Palermo from the hills of Monreale and many crypts .
c) THE SEA, returned to center stage with the recent opening in Palermo of the EcoMuseo di
Palermo telling of the ancient relationship between the people and their city of "all ports"
("Panormos", Palermo's name in Greek means " all-ports "). The Docks have now bear witness to a
new relationship between the city and its coastline;
d) THE RUINS, seventy years after the bombings of the Second World War, the theme of
reconstruction fuels the current debate on the future of the old market Vucciria and the city.
e) INTERCULTURALITY, one of the fundamental traits of the identity of Palermo, there are
many squares and neighborhoods with dynamic multiethnic flavors continue the vibrant
intersection of Palermos history of Moorish, African and Norman roots.
1
Among the places that will be open for this 2014 Cultural event:
- "The Steri," a 15th century Palace with its famous 216 square meters high ceiling and a small
annex church Sant'Antonio Abate. Here the prisons of the Spanish Inquisition with graffiti drawn
by prisoners can also be viewed.
- "The Catacombs of the Capuchins," with their new discoveries
- "The Crypt of the Repented" in the convent of courtesans converted to monastic life
- "The Catacombs of Porta d’Ossuna" a refuge of the early Christians
- The Crypts of several churches in Palermo that are usually closed (i.e., The Oratories of "del
Carminello," "San Matteo al Cassaro," "Death to Orsola," " Lanza di Trabia San Mamiliano," and
the crypts of "Cocchieri alla Kalsa" and "Santa Maria di Piedigrotta")
- "The Qanat" underground aqueducts invented by the Arabs
- "The Chapel of Carpenters! in the Theatines Monastery
- "The Giuseppe Pitrè Ethnographic Museum"
- Historical records of the City
- The Library of "Casa Professa" Church (newly renovated)
- "The Monastery of Santa Maria di Gesù," where St. Benedict the Moor lived, the holy Black Saint
revered around the world
- "Massimo" and "Biondo" Theaters.
- The second sites of the State Archives at Gancia, splendid monasteries recently restored (Catena
and Gancia)
- "The Vincenzo Bellini Music Conservatory"
- "The Academy of Fine Arts"
- The churches of "San Nicolò" and "Santa Chiara," two hidden gems of the Albergheria
neigborhood
- Collections Basil Ducrot at the "Faculty of Architecture"
- The Botanical Garden, one of the oldest in Europe
- "Gemmellaro," the Geological Museum, for lovers of science.
- A series of exceptional oratorical societies usually closed to the public: "Santissimi Pietro e Paolo,"
"Santa Caterina," "The Ladies Oratory", and the "Immacolatella del Carminello."
- Several caves and natural cavities will also be available for visiting.
All these places will be both open to the public and integrated into a rich program of urban walks.
In 2013, the event attracted more than 60,000 participants.
2