France – Exchanging views on Palermo: a double exhibition at the Italian Cultural Institute

The Italian Cultural Institute in Paris pays homage to the city of Palermo and its many faces with a double exhibition, inaugurated a few days ago and entitled: “Palermo arabo-normanna” [Arab-Norman Palermo] by Francesco Ferla and “Capanne” [Huts] by Angelo Cirrincione. In this fascinating city of contrasts, a magnet for photographers, working-class neighbourhoods merge with precious architecture dating back to the time of the Norman Rule over Sicily (1130-1194). One exhibition is devoted to the nine monumental sites of the Arab-Norman Palermo and the cathedrals of Cefalù and Monreale (on Sicily’s northern coast) – all Unesco World Heritage Sites since 2005, which will feature in Ferla’s photographs. Working-class Palermo, on the other hand, will be showcased in the exhibition of works by Cincirrone, a local photographer, who shot the pictures between 2008 and 2013 in Mondello –  a village made up of holiday homes, only 7 kilometres from Palermo’s city centre. In Mondello each house has a sort of beach-hut, furnished as a mini-flat. The two exhibitions will run until 30 June, during the opening hours of the Italian Cultural Institute.