Pastory is located on Via Sammartino, in an affluent area of Palermo; however, this fresh pasta shop has its roots in revolution. It all began in 1968, a year marked by emancipatory struggles in France and beyond, which were reshaping societal norms and providing women with new avenues for participation and empowerment. Inspired by this transformative era, Serena Sabatino's grandmother, Angelina di Carluccio, made the decision to migrate from Naples to Palermo. Accompanied by her husband, Raffaele Sabatino, who had secured employment in Sicily, Angelina brought with her a wealth of knowledge about the Neapolitan art of pasta fresca all'uovo (fresh egg pasta).

Upon entering Al Fresco in the Ballarò neighborhood, we are struck by both the kind welcome and the special location – the restaurant is set in a garden enclosed within the walls of Casa San Francesco, a former seventeenth-century convent, lit by strings of lights dangling between plants and saplings. There is an immediate sense of openness, freedom and freshness. This is no coincidence: while “al fresco” in Italian can refer to the chill of being out in the open air, it is also an expression used to mean “life in prison.” The double meaning makes sense in this case – despite its first impression as a regular eatery, perhaps the most special feature of Al Fresco is that working in the kitchen and in the dining room are former inmates who have joined the team following their release from prison.

To properly introduce Palermo, CB’s newest location, we turned to our local experts: correspondent and photographer Francesco Cipriano and walk leader Maria Luisa. In celebration of the launch, we spoke with them about Palermo’s gastronomic scene, the special Sicilian relationship with food, and their favorite places in the city. Francesco is a writer and photographer born in New York to a family of Sicilian immigrants who then moved to Switzerland before finally returning to Sicily – the place, he says, that feels the most like home. Maria Luisa is a native Sicilian and a professional culinary guide. She got her culinary start from her grandmother, who taught her how to knead dough to make bread, how to forage for wild plants and how to appreciate a good glass of wine.