Palermo

Palermo, a precious pearl of the south with a rich cultural heritage

A city with Phoenician origins, then dominated by the Romans, Arabs, Normans and Swabians, it displays evidence of its glorious past wherever you look. The Arabic and Norman styles blend with the Baroque and Liberty in a mix of rare beauty, to be observed with surprise and wonder. This coastal metropolis, among the largest in Europe, conquers with its colours, scents and flavors that overwhelm the senses and enliven the streets. Decadent and sumptuous, ancient and contemporary, authentic and yet enchanting: be on your guard, Palermo will enter your heart and bowels and never leave again.

The bedlam of the markets, the Byzantine gold of the mosaics in the churches, the triumph of the baroque in the working-class neighborhoods, the cheerful confusion in the historic markets of Vuccirìa and Ballarò: what to see in Palermo? There are many alternatives, but we suggest 3 of them.
– Abandon yourself to the spiritual side of Palermo, with its cathedral: an immense building consecrated to the Virgin of the Assumption which was built on a previous Christian basilica, transformed by the Saracens into a mosque and reconverted to Christian worship by the Normans. In addition to its curious history, it preserves the remains of the Sicilian royals Federico II and Roger II and those of Santa Rosalia, patron saint of Palermo.
– Admire the magnificence of one of the iconic monuments of Palermo: Palazzo dei Normanni, a fortification built by the Arabs in the 9th century and then expanded by the Normans. The apartments are embellished with wonderful mosaics with hunting scenes and the Palatine chapel, inside, is decorated with the most beautiful Byzantine mosaics in all of Sicily.
– Dream in one of the temples of music in Palermo: the Teatro Massimo of Palermo, built in 1887 in a point where three churches and as many monasteries were located, is the object of a curious legend: it seems that one of the nuns whose tomb was destroyed still wanders there.