Light through the glassless window of an abandoned palazzo. Revisiting the city 8 years after a 3 night stay in Vucciria,not only does one notice a marked transformation, through redevelopment, of many sections of the centre which previously were grimy, litter-strewn and haunting, but also that the ever-present sunlight creates its own pictures through the contrast of light and shade ( Luce ed ombra) which enriches those vicoli and piazze which otherwise remain hidden from admiration. Over 7 days the city appeared to be experiencing a rebirth and these images seek to describe the splendour and colour which the 'new' Palermo now seems content to display.At the Postale Centrale, alone amidst grand columns of red and grey.The many colours of La Vucciria MercatoA well-dressed man walking through the La Vucciria Mercato in the quiet of a very early morning.The colour orange at the Fontana PretoriaA Piaggio ridden by a man in a blue jacket escaping the shadows on Via ZaraIn contemplation at the TribunaleLotto everywhere.'Love conquers...' in Vucciria MarketFather and son walking to school in Vucciria , taken in reflectionIn via Cala, Il Murales che celebra Falcone e Borsellino. Two of the very bravest in the history of modern Italy.By the side of Piazza San DomenicoThe struggle between light and shade at the Quattro Canti.An old lady walking in sunlight in Discesa di Guidici and a bright red vanWalking alone at dawn in front of St Mary of the Admiral.'Il Siciliano' and the 'Vespa Cafe' at 10.25A man reading by the court buildings with a dog and a piece of contemporary sculptureThrough the darkness of an alleyway a splash of bright orange on Via Vittorio EmanueleA tattered Stars and Stripes at RISODon Corleone and the Ragazzi della Vucciria reflect past associations.Father and daughter travelling away from the huge, white columns of the Postale CentraleDawn's early light falling on a bench in the small triangle of space between Via Volturno and Via Salesio Balsano.Light falling on a dark, old and broken stairway3 Fiat cars parked Italian-style in Monreale, mimicking the tricolour of the Italian flagA rose seller preparing his stall in a side street leading towards the Ballaro Mercato.The dogs of La Vucciria.A curtain in blue and white stripes hangs despondently on the outside of a crumbling buildingWithin the CattedraleEmerging from the complete shadow at the Quattro CantiFlowers dying in front of a votive wall shrine in Vicolo della Rosa BiancaIt seems that not all of the original 48 statues designated for the Fontana Pretoria in 1554 have presented themselves.A cyclist emerging from the shadows by il Banco di SiciliaBefore the day begins at the court in the Piazza Vittorio Emanuele Orlando.White flowers in sunlight at La Chiesa di Maria dello SpasimoTowards Ballaro.No Mafia; a resilient and prominent memorial to its victims.Al Pacino in the fish market in Vucciria.Ahead of the shadows on Via MaquedaThe Fontana Pretoria from the roof of the adjacent Chiesa Santa Caterina d'AlessandriaSmiling whilst walking the dog in Piazza Sant'AnnaBehind the alterations to the bomb damaged Piazza Garraffello an old man and a forgotten espresso.The Column of the Immaculate Conception seen through a balustradeDifferent coloured, metal dogs and a man standing off Via MaquedaSunlight falling on the side of a churchPanificio and an old, red Fiat 500 in Borgo VecchioLooking backBlue jacket and the Quattro CantiIn the vicoli behind Piazza Garrafello a red car and a sunbeam lighting up a man in blue.2 lads and the cupola of a churchSitting in sunlightThe 'Blue Octopus' street art faded by the sunlight and 2 motorcyclists in Borgo VecchioLuce ed ombra alla Chiesa di Santa Maria dello Spasimo.A beam of white sunlight enters an abandoned building off Via MaquedaA colourful head dress, orange pipework and a dark silhouette in Borgo VecchioCycling towards Via RomaEvening light falls on Via alla Tavola Tonda in VucciriaWith a walking stick, making one's way along Via Roma in front of the Postale Centrale.Falcone at the Tribunale'Alles ist gut': Angels in La KalsaSeen through an iron gate, a memorial to the politician, Emanuele Notarbartolo- the first victim of the MafiaWhite motorino and man using a cell phone.A white scooter taken through torn plastic sheeting on Via Mariano StabileDressed in white on Via OrologioWalking away from Pizza Sant'Anna with a blue sky.A black dog in Vucciria.The fractured statue of Charles V standing in Piazza BolognaStop sign by the Fire Station on Via Gaetano DonizettiA black t-shirt and a white Fiat 500 in Borgo VecchioLeaving Vucciria market and heading onto Via RomaPadre Pio in VucciriaA red shirt amidst the shadows cast by the midday sunlight.From Ballaro towards Via Abramo Lincoln'I will not abandon you; I love you' and a 'no entry' signA dash of morning light at the Fontana Pretoria'I Love Vucciria'The memory of Paolo BorsellinoLight through an arched window falls onto an empty, decaying stairway.Sunlight amidst the dark columns of the Postale Centrale.Palermo: yesterday,today and tomorrow in Borgo VecchioCaught in the shadows by the Quattro Canti
Simon Allen is a street photographer, having traveled to New York, Rome, London, Manchester, Bologna, Naples and Melbourne, amongst many other major world cities, representing the real wonder of the urban environment through his photography.
