About Palermo. And what is your assessment of my plain English? Thank you
What springs to mind when you think of Palermo?
Exotic food, perhaps?
Palermo* is among the top 5 cities in the world for street-food. You can find "stigghiola", which is sold only from street vendors, and "pani ca meusa", which is available in both a lemon and a cheese version. You will also gonna love the "sfincione", which is the Palermitan unique version of pizza, available in every bakery.
Palermo is also known for sweet dishes, and vary according to the the season. In summer, its ice cream is the best in Sicily, with the exception of the "granita con brioche", which is better in Catania and Messina.
For a truly unforgettable chocolate explosion, you should try the original and unique Palermitan pastry tradition of little cannoli (cannolicchio) and little cassata (cassatina) or the "setteveli". Don't confuse "cassatina" with "cassatella", which is a delicious fried cake common in the Trapani area. You must eat it freshly made and pretty hot, though. You can find them in any good pastry shop - which is to say, everywhere - but locals know the best ones! :)
Looking for monuments and history? Palermo has plenty of both. A good guidebook can tell you what to look for and where to find it, but, if I had to choose just one site, I'd pick the Martorana church. From an atheist that gets bored by churches, that says a lot!
You want some excitement? The catacombs of the Cappuccini order, with their thousands of mummies that include the perfectly preserved mummy of a little girl who died one hundred** years ago, is one-of-a-kind, and you'll not find anything else like it!
I know, you loved Michael Corleone and you want to see some mafia-style stuff. To appreciate their influence, you have to look at what isn't there anymore. They erected huge reinforced concrete buldings all over the city centre by razing down beautiful, Art-Nouveau mansions, that were often more akin to castles. They are all gone forever.
Ben fatto, Luigi! Molto interessante, e ben scritto! Complimenti!
* In English we don't usually assign a gender to places or objects (except cars).
** Did you mean one thousand years?