Palermo is the capital of Sicily and, with around 630,000 inhabitants, one of the six largest cities in Italy. It lies on the north-western coast of the island, in the so-called Conca d'Oro, a plain between the Tyrrhenian Sea and the mountains of the hinterland. To the north, the Gulf of Palermo is bounded by the striking Monte Pellegrino which separates the city from the Gulf of Mondello like a rocky barrier.
Few places in Italy display the Mediterranean complexity as clearly as Palermo. Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Normans, Hohenstaufens, French, Spanish and Bourbons have all left their mark here. The blend of Arab domes, Norman churches, Byzantine mosaics, Baroque palazzi and Art Nouveau villas makes Palermo one of the culturally richest cities of the Mediterranean world.
From Panormos to the Capital of the Norman Kingdom
The city was founded in the 8th century BC by Phoenicians. The name in common use today derives from the Greek Panormos which translates roughly as "all harbour." In the 9th century, Arab forces conquered the city and made it the capital of the Emirate of Sicily. At that time, Palermo is said by some accounts to have had around 300,000 inhabitants, making it one of the greatest metropolises of the Mediterranean world.
From 1061, the Normans under Roger I began their conquest of the island. Palermo fell in 1072. Christian rulers henceforth governed a predominantly Muslim land, consciously integrating Arab and Byzantine traditions. Under Roger II, who was crowned the first King of Sicily in 1130, a royal court emerged in which Latin, Greek and Arabic were spoken on equal terms. Later, the Hohenstaufens ruled from Palermo, most notably Frederick II.
The UNESCO World Heritage Site: Arab-Norman Palermo
Since 2015, the complex Palermo arabo-normanna e le cattedrali di Cefalù e Monreale has been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. This serial World Heritage Site comprises nine monuments, seven of which stand within Palermo itself. These include the Palazzo dei Normanni with the Cappella Palatina, the Cathedral of Palermo, the churches of San Giovanni degli Eremiti, Santa Maria dell'Ammiraglio (La Martorana) and San Cataldo, as well as the Palazzo della Zisa and the Ponte dell'Ammiraglio.
The Palazzo dei Normanni is considered the oldest royal residence in Europe and houses the Cappella Palatina on the first floor. The palace chapel was built under Roger II from 1132 and consecrated in 1143. It brings together Latin, Byzantine and Arab elements in a unique synthesis. The Cathedral of Palermo, consecrated in 1185, displays in its façade and portals traces from the Arab, Norman, Catalan-Gothic and Neoclassical periods. Within, the mortal remains of Frederick II, Roger II and Constance of Sicily lie at rest.
The Teatro Massimo and the Cultural Stage
The Teatro Massimo Vittorio Emanuele on the Piazza Verdi is the largest opera house in Italy by floor area and the third largest in Europe after the Opéra National de Paris and the Vienna State Opera. It opened in 1897 with Giuseppe Verdi's Falstaff and remains to this day Sicily's most important venue for opera, ballet and classical music. The building gained international recognition as the setting for the closing scene of Francis Ford Coppola's "The Godfather: Part III," among other things.
Not far from the Teatro Massimo stands the Teatro Politeama Garibaldi, the city's second great theatre. Between the two venues stretches the Via Ruggero Settimo, Palermo's principal shopping street. The Quattro Canti, the Baroque four-corners square at the intersection of Via Maqueda and Via Vittorio Emanuele, mark the symbolic centre of the old town.
Ballarò, Il Capo and the Vucciria
Palermo has three great historic markets that have shaped life in the old town for centuries. Ballarò in the Albergheria quarter is the oldest of the three markets, stretching between Corso Tukory and Piazza Casa Professa. Here, fish, meat, vegetables and fruit from the Conca d'Oro predominate. Activity is at its most intense during the morning hours.
Il Capo lies directly behind the Teatro Massimo and traces its origins back to the Arab period. The narrow alleyways between the stalls are reminiscent of a North African souk. Il Capo is considered a smaller, quieter market compared to Ballarò, yet offers the same culinary variety. The Vucciria in the Castellammare quarter was long the city's most celebrated market and inspired the Sicilian painter Renato Guttuso to one of his most famous paintings in 1974. Today the Vucciria is quiet during the day, but comes alive in the evening as the centre of Palermitan nightlife.
Street Food as a Way of Life
Palermo is regarded as one of the most important street food cities in Europe, with a tradition stretching back to the Middle Ages. Panelle, fried chickpea fritters, are the definitive classic and are often served in a sesame-seed roll. Alongside these come Arancine, rice balls filled with ragù, butter or spinach, crocchè made from potato dough, and sfincione, a thick, soft variant of pizza topped with onions, caciocavallo and anchovies.
The ultimate test for first-time visitors to Palermo is the Pani ca' meusa, a bread roll filled with boiled and fried calf's spleen, served plain ("schietto") or with Caciocavallo cheese ("maritato"). Less spectacular but equally traditional are Stigghiola, grilled lamb or kid intestines, typically wrapped around parsley or spring onions and prepared at street stalls in the evenings. Palermitan street food is resolutely simple, affordable and intended for the local population, not for tourism.
Monte Pellegrino and Santa Rosalia
Monte Pellegrino is Palermo's local mountain, rising to 606 metres directly at the northern edge of the city. The mountain contains a grotto where, according to local tradition, the city's patron saint Santa Rosalia lived as a hermit in the 12th century. Her relics were rediscovered in 1624, when the city was struck by a plague epidemic. After a procession bearing her relics was held and the plague subsequently subsided, Rosalia was declared the patron saint of Palermo.
In honour of the Santuzza, as she is affectionately known, the Festino takes place every year on 14 and 15 July. The procession winds through the old town with a large allegorical float, from the Palazzo dei Normanni to the Marina, accompanied by tens of thousands of Palermitans. In the night of 4 September, the Acchianata also takes place: the pilgrimage route up to the Santuario on Monte Pellegrino.
Mondello and the Coast
To the north of Monte Pellegrino lies Mondello, the traditional seaside resort of Palermo.The crescent-shaped beach, with its fine white sand and shallow turquoise water, is considered one of the most beautiful city beaches in Italy. The defining landmark of the area is the Antico Stabilimento Balneare, an Art Nouveau lido from the early 1900s, built on stilts over the water.
Further west along the coast lie the fishing villages of Sferracavallo and Isola delle Femmine. At the Gulf of Castellammare follows Trappeto. In an easterly direction, the coastline extends from Palermo to Cefalù, one of the most beautiful coastal towns in Sicily, whose Norman cathedral also belongs to the UNESCO Arab-Norman Palermo World Heritage Site.
When to Visit and How to Get There
Palermo can be visited throughout the year, though midsummer can be sweltering, with temperatures regularly exceeding 35 degrees . The ideal time to visit is between April and June, or between September and October, when the climate remains pleasant and the crowds are more manageable. In winter, the city stays mild. Rain falls mainly in November and December.
The main airport is Falcone e Borsellino at Punta Raisi, around 35 kilometres west of the city. From the airport, shuttle buses and a regional train service the city centre. From the Italian mainland, Palermo can be reached by ferry, primarily from Naples, Civitavecchia and Genoa. Within the city itself, the historic centre is almost entirely walkable. Bus routes and a small metro line supplement the options.
Those who truly wish to get to know Palermo will need at least three to four days. The well-known monuments, such as the Palazzo dei Normanni and the cathedral, each deserve half a day, to which one should add time for the markets, a trip to Monreale , and an afternoon in Mondello. Palermo rewards above all those who are willing to leave the obvious tourist trail behind and venture into its narrow alleyways.
