When I started writing fiction, my first novel poured out of me. I spent every spare minute (when I wasn’t homeschooling my four children) curled up in my bedroom chair writing chapter after chapter.
Ah . . . those were the days.
After the book was finished, I showed it to a few people, including my daughters. The feedback I got was: love the story, but I can’t ‘see’ where it takes place. The funny thing was, as the author, I couldn’t ‘see the setting either. And when I began my second book, the same thing happened.
But then, while researching some character names, I hit on a solution: set the books in a real place.
What a revelation! That series (a Sleeping Beauty retelling still to be published) clued me in to the wonders of the country of Croatia.
And my love affair with Mediterranean locations began.
My current series takes place in beautiful Palermo, Sicily. It’s set in the late 18th century, before Sicily became part of Italy.
Sicily’s location in the central part of the Mediterranean ensured that it was ruled by just about everyone at one point or another. The result is a mesh of architectural styles and culture that is not duplicated anywhere else.
The most prominent feature of Palermo is the looming presence of Mount Pellegrino. This monstrous block of stone shadows the city that lies in a crescent along the northern coast of the island. Not only is it beautiful to look at, but it is full of stories from the past.
A young girl found a cave where she became a hermit, and the tales tell that she saved the entire city of Palermo from the plague ravaging the city. The site is an amazing place to visit at the top of the mountain. More on Rosalia (who became the patron saint of Palermo) in a future post.
The more I explored, the more I found to love. The majestic Palermo Cathedral, one of countless beautiful churches in the city. The elaborate plazas with statues and fountains. The parks and gardens. And most intriguing of all, the Capuchin Catacombs—a subterranean resting place for thousands of mummified bodies. This was so fascinating that I wrote a whole series about it.
This is just a tiny taste of the wonders of Palermo. I hope you enjoyed the glimpse. I’ll post more in-depth in future posts.