Andrea Giubelli: Ballarò, the heart of Palermo

Ballarò is Palermo, and Palermo is Ballarò. I think that all the character and peculiarities of the Sicilian city is contained in this historic market. The noises, the music, the voices, the scents, the joy, the warmth of the people of Ballarò, and therefore of Palermo. Already in the early morning the scent of fried fish makes its way among the scents of sweets and fruit, while the calls of the sellers mix with the sounds of music and songs that some stalls play at full volume. Between one seller and another there is always a dialogue, a continuous chatter, an exchange of glances. Initially the tourists walk among the stalls, they seem disoriented, confused; they are completely absorbed by all this. But it only takes a few minutes to get used to it, to be part of the sounds, the scents, the joy of this market, of this noisy heart of Palermo. All this is Ballarò.