Evening star., 1927-05-05
CITY MAY BECOME
ITALIAN FREE PORT
Palermo, SiciIian Capital,
Likely to Be Exempted
From Tariff Regulations.

Palermo, capital Of Sicily, may be-
come free port, according to a de-
cree recently approved by the Italian
cabinet, empowering the government
to declare IA ports exempt from tariff
regulations" says a bulletin from the
headquarters of the National Geo
graphic Society.
palermo is on the northwestern
coast of Sicily, and it's 12-mile. cres-
cent.shaped harbor is busy with ship
ping" continues the bulletin. Inside
the two long breakwaters that protect
the port from the sea huge black
Italian transatlantic liners lie at an
chor awaiting their passengers, while
hundreds of smaller craft, from
weather.beaten cargoe boats to
brightly -colored pleasure craft, lazily
float along or glide about over the
smooth water like SO many water
beetles.
Once Port Of PhoeniCians.
palermo has been an important
maritime city for moro than 5000
years. When the Phoenicians, one of
the Is peoples that have ruled the
island, settled there they called the
city Panormos (all harbor). Then it
occupied a small peninsula, shaped
much like the State of Michigan, with
wide harbor nearly surrounding II.
Later the silt from the inlal.d noun
tains filled the harbor bed which now
forms a part Of the foundation of
modern Palermo.
'The trim, white ships Of the steam
ship company that transports passen-
gers from the Italian boot to Sicily
usually reach Palermo shortly. after
dawn, but Palermo appears wide
awake Hundreds of citizens already
are on the dock, shouting greetings to
the newcomers or announcing their
business as representatives of this or
that hotel.
In Heart of Lemon Belt.
"The passengers first glance toward
Palermo suggests the name La Felice
(the happv) that it has long borne
and rightly deserves. The compactly
built city of more than 900 inhabi-
tants resembles the playing field of an
enormous natural athletic stadium,
with the suburban hills, dotted with
palatial villas and citrus groves, form
ing the elevated sides.
''The stadium is the Conca dOro,
or golden shell, the most fertile spot
on the island, famous for its natural
beauty. Here tropical growths flour
ish in brilliant tropical sunshine.
Lemons, oranges and sumac form the
major part of Palermo's exports. A
large part of the lemon crop reaches
United States markets. Only the dark
skinned Sicilians, wearing their stock
ing caps, a distinctive part of the
hn vi
imagining himself in southern Florida
or southern California, although Pa
lermo is in about the same latitude as
Richmond, Va.
Carts Are Works Of Art.
palermo owes it's two main thor
oughfares to the Spaniards. The Corso
Vitorio Emmanuel cuts through the
center Of the city from the sea to the
green hills in the background. The
Via Maqueda runs at right angles,
intersecting it in midtown.
'These streets suggest carnival
week. An easy-going, happy throng
Of natives crowd the narrow sidewalks,
while the individuals stroll leisurely
along or stop to gaze at the alluring
window displays in the handsome Pa
lermo shops. Palermitans al never
in a hurry.
I'm the street one sees everv kind
of conveyance, from the street clean
ing departments top-havy cart, drawn
by tinv spmpathy-pr provoking donkey,
to the smartest trap Of a London type.
But none draw such attention as the
Sicilian peasant carts, that in many
respects resemble our ordinary two
wheeled dump carts. Almost every
inch of the exterior is painted with
some religious, legendary or historical
theme. One panel may depict the
crucifixion or the three wise men and
next to it a scene representing the
discovery of America by Columbus, or
the Sicilian vespers.
Worked II Designs.
Even the wheels, axleS, shafts,
body posts and tailboards are neatly
worked in various designs, while the
accompanying horse is decorated with
mirrors and two-foot plumes resem'
bling large feather busters. These
elaborate vehicles are used both for
business and pleasure. In the morn
ing they are delivery wagons, while
in the afternoon the owners Of the
carts fill them with their families and
join the Via Maqueda parade.
"A poverty-stricken Palermitan
prince, baron or count will go without
food to hire a carriage or feed a steed
he is not able to own to join the fash
ionable procession. When a noble
cannot afford a private rig he joins
with another noble and purchases one.
Since each noble must have his coat
of-arms emblaZoned on the doors,
these 'party-rig' owners solved this
problem by each one providing his
own doors. So when the tired horse
returns to the palace with the prince,
off come his doors and on go those Of
the duke or baron, who sedately rides
off in his private equipage.
"On the wide thoroughfares and the
thousands of crooked. alley-like side
streets that are seldom more than a
few blocks long one meets with hos