This is Massimo and Marlene
starting our much awaited visit to the town of the Marchese Ancestors. This is
the gate Nuovo (new gate), it is the entrance between the old city and the suburbs.It
was built in 1567. This is the road that leads to Cattedrale Monreale and goes
thru Mezzomorreale. The road is Corso Victorio Emmanuele and at this gate becomes
Via Catalafimi. Massimo had arranged for his friends Orsola and another Massimo
to take us in a car to the area to find some old sites andthe huge Monreale Cathedral .
Orsola and Massimo found this
section of the old Villa Tasca Gardens still intact. Grandfather Mario’s
mother, Rosalia Anello’s family worked in these gardens. It is now private
and we could not enter.The Villa is in the Mezzomorreale area.
They also found this site down
a small street. Over this wall (which we tried to climb Is a garden temple and the Villa Tasca house,
built in15th century, in 1997 was the Site of a huge party for the Conductor
of Berlin Symphony for Teatro Massimo.Me and Orsola.
On Via Catalafimi in Mezzomorreale.these would have been the merchant houses with
businesses on the bottom.I am sure our ancestors would haveShopped here.
The Marchese’s were here from the early 1900s clear back to the late 1700s
(that is as far as we have gone with genealogy).
This is the Fontana del drago
(dragon fountain) located on the main road in Mezzomoreale. You can
see me testing the water. Our ancestors would of come here for water and
a visit, they could see all of Palermo from here.
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