The dogs of Palermo

The Documentary Podcast

BBC

Society & Culture, Documentary, Personal Journals

4.3 • 2.6K Ratings

🗓️ 2 January 2025

⏱️ 27 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In Palermo, and across southern Italy, there are two main types of stray dog. There are the semi-wild packs that live on the edge of human settlements, and then there are the cani di quartiere (dogs of the neighbourhood). These dogs are known by everyone and owned by no one. They sprawl out for naps in the middle of the pavement, frequent the same butchers for their scraps, play with the neighbourhood kids, and have friends - canine and human - all over the territory. Unlike strays in other parts of Europe, they are not rounded up and treated as a nuisance. They are protected by law, which guarantees their freedom as long as they are not a danger to people, animals, or property. British writer and producer Georgia Walker has been fascinated by the lives of these animals, and what they mean to the city.

Transcript

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0:00.0	From the BBC World Service, this is the documentary. I'm Georgia Walker.
0:07.3	One of the first things I noticed since moving to Palermo in Sicily two years ago
0:12.2	was the sound of dogs barking, from lone howls in the distance to fitful bursts of
0:18.8	conversation in the night, or waves that travel through the city like dominoes,
0:22.6	a message being passed along.
0:25.6	At night, I'd find myself asking,
0:29.6	where are all these dogs?
0:31.6	What are they talking about?
0:33.6	And why is no one telling them to be quiet?
0:35.6	I also started noticing lone dogs around the city. And why is no one telling them to be quiet?
0:41.5	I also started noticing lone dogs around the city,
0:45.6	hanging around outside bars, napping on street corners,
0:48.3	waiting at traffic lights to cross the road.
0:54.3	The first time I followed a dog, it was the beginning of summer,
0:58.7	and the air smelt like Jasmine and hot trash from the street corner.
1:03.8	He walked past me at a pace, his head down,
1:07.1	a black shadow loping through the alleyways of Palermo.
1:10.9	Without thinking, I went after him.
1:14.3	At a couple of points, I almost lost him,
1:18.4	and then spotted him at the entrance of a Baroque Catholic church.
1:23.0	He hobbled inside, faint piano spilling out onto the street.
1:29.5	And I went home, wondering what I'd just seen.
	...

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