If there is a place in Palermo that, along with the Teatro Massimo, embodies the Sicilian capital in all its charm and splendor, it is Mondello. This small seaside village northwest of the city boasts a beach stretching nearly a mile, which comes alive each summer with rows of beach clubs.
Until a few years ago, wooden huts – known locally as capanne – lined the promenade right down to the water’s edge, serving as changing cabins for bathers. The history of Mondello, which until the late 19th century was inhabited only by local fishermen, tells of a malaria-infested swamp that plagued the area for much of the 1800s.
