In 1834, Salvatore Alaimo transformed a deconsecrated chapel in the heart of Palermo into the city's first focacceria. From the very beginning, it was a revolutionary place, where both the poor and the rich sat side by side savouring the 'schietta' focaccia (white as a bride's veil, filled with ricotta and caciocavallo cheese) or the 'maritata' (enriched with veal spleen and lung). Legend has it that Garibaldi and his Thousand refreshed themselves here in 1860, but many other illustrious figures loved it as well, from Pirandello to Sciascia, from Falcone to Borsellino. This Palermo institution has been run by the Conticello family since 1939, who have brought the popular and noble spirit of this focacceria to Milan, Rome and Turin.