La Vita e Bella
I start my walk in the old district La Loggia heading for the most famous market, la Vucciria. In the narrow streets I am surrounded by walls with graffiti full of monsters and angels, a huge beating heart and the Godfather. Good to see there is a lot of construction activity on the ruins in this area caused by WWII and neglect.
The newly restored fountain the Fontana Garraffello (gharraf is abundance of water in Arabic) has been the only supply of drinking water for the neighborhood for centuries is working again. Boys are pouring buckets of water for Mama. “Don’t go to la Vucciria that’s dead.. go to la vecchia, piu bella Mercato del Capo at Porta Carina.. smell the herbs, fruits, fresh fish,” Nonna yells from a doorway.
I walk on with “La Vita e Bella” on my left and a gallery on the right with fish in large bowls where men with big hoses spray water over my feet laughing. The market is a long winding street full of stalls. I take a free stool to enjoy the scents and colors of the fruits and vegetables. Marketmen come to check me out and touch my shoulder or hair. You can buy anything here. An enormous diversity of people and languages make me curious about their life stories.
