We were filling in time. Our ferry from Palermo to Genoa wasn't scheduled to leave for another 8 hours... we had ticked most of the boxes for Palermo... it was 35° out on the street... and the Duomo was quiet and cool. The cathedral was dressed with a dazzling display of white lilies... they were everywhere... end of pews... steps to the altar ... in the side chapels... and featured in the altar decor. With such a big investment in flowers in the most prestigious church in Palermo, we thought an 'A' list wedding was about to take place... given the Palermo setting, we wondered if it would attract men wearing shiny black suits with bulges under armpits to accommodate gun holsters.
The guests shuffled in... and it became quickly evident this was a 'B' list wedding. Guests had no minders... ladies in platform shoes with stilleto heels were holding onto the pew ends to assist their balance... not a gun holster in sight... the use of holy water and crossing oneself showed no practised piousness ... clearly not 'A' list style.
The bridal party assembled... the two flower girls intent on kicking the page boys. The large number of groomsmen assembled with lots of cheek kissing each other and laughing too much at their own jokes... most of them keeping their sunglasses resting on their eyebrows... ready for a quick exit back out in the sun for a quick cigarette. You guessed it, a couple of them kept their sunnies in operational position during the service.
The organ struck up a prelude to the bridal march... the trickle of guests turned into a flood.. not much talking...the groom accompanying his mother walked down the aisle with suitable 'oo's and arr's' from the guests... a more rapturous greeting than afforded the bride and her father... lights were turned on. The first of the bridesmaids appeared... the groomsmen realised they were supposed to be at the front of the church... and ran down the side aisle to take up their position... perhaps one more rehearsal would not have gone astray. One, two three... there were seven bridesmaids... no wonder the bride received fatigued applause upon her entrance. Interestingly, the church official tied a white ribbon across the aisle blocking the progress of father and bride... the bride untying the ribbon may be a part of the marriage ritual in these parts.
The priest launched into his service... the congregation did not seem all that interested in what the priest had to say... children wandered around and talked with each other... the matrons waved to their friends across the aisle... some men stood up, took their packet of cigarettes from their pockets and wandered towards the church door. The priest... seeking greater involvement from the congregation... wandered down the aisle throwing blessings to the people... how would Tony describe it... throwing an odorless invisible product to no one. Bible readings were given by girlfriends of the bride... but the priest had the only microphone that worked... so the congregation couldn't hear... not that they seemed to mind.
We left at the time when marriage certificates were being signed. Walking out into the scorching sun... we thought we had seen a sight that should be on the agenda of every tourist in Palermo.
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