Sicily trip: Palermo, Jan 3 morning

The day started with a short walk to the old town to see several baroque churches and oratories combined into the so-called I Tesori della Loggia itinerary.

On our way, a monument to the victims of the struggle against the mafia:



It seemed to us rather unattractive and badly located near the port. The square is called Piazza XIII Vittime.



The oratories were built by wealthy merchant lodges for services and meetings at the very end of the 17-th century in a lovely baroque style. They are very similar to each other: three of the five were decorated by the same sculptor, Giacomo Serpotta, with stucco bas reliefs of the scenes from the life of Christ and allegorical statutes (cardinal virtues, etc.), and lots of playful cherubs:





Oratorio di San Lorenzo is the richest and the most elegant one. (It is in the same area, but actually, it wasn't part of this tour -- we saw it on the previous afternoon, on our way from the Gallery of Modern Art.) There are many more pictures on the web.