Palermo
Historic City
General Information
Other Name: -, District: NA, State: Sicily , Italy
Area: 158 km²
Languages Spoken: Italian, Sicilian
Long Distance Code: -
Importance: -
Best Time to Visit: April to June and Oct-Nov
International Access: -Description
Palermo is a historic city in southern Italy, the capital of the autonomous region Sicily and the province of Palermo.The city is noted for its rich history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence.The area attracts significant amounts of tourists each year and is widely known for its colourful fruit, vegetable and fish market at the heart of Palermo known as the Vucciria.Location
Palermo is located in the north-west of the island of Sicily, right by the Gulf of Palermo in the Tyrrhenian Sea.Climate
Mediterranean climate with mild, wet winters and warm to hot, dry summers.
No visit to Palermo is complete without a visit to the catacombs which are found under the Convento dei Cappuccini. This fascinating place has some 8000 bodies preserved, all dressed in specially made outfits. Find out about the various chemical and drying processes used to prepare the corpses and marvel at the systematic way they were organized according to sex and profession. A separate cave contains the remains of two-year-old Rosaria Lombardo who was preserved almost to perfection by a meticulous embalming process.
Once surrounded by lush green countryside, this marvellous Norman castle gets its name from the Arab word el-aziz, meaning "splendid". At the height of its glory, this royal residence set in fabulous grounds with its own small lake was called "Paradiso della Terra" (Heaven on Earth). The castle''s simple high-walled rectangular design belies its richly decorated interior covered in marble and mosaics featuring typical Arab motifs called muqarnas.
The traditional center of Palermo called "Quattro Canti" (Four Corners) is located at the intersection of Corso Vittorio Emanuele and Via Maqueda, making it the heart of this city''s old historic district.
This museum is housed within a convent belonging to the Cappucin friars. Most of the collection relates to the period of Greek dominance. Among the more interesting exhibits are the famous metope from the temples in Selinunte, a collection of Greek vases and several mosaics from patrician Roman villas. There is also a rather interesting collection of Italian ceramics from the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries. The permanent collection was enlarged a few years ago to include a section dedicated to the punic tombs found all over Sicily.
Improvements to this area drawn up by Filippo Basile in 1863 resulted in the splendid square we see today. The attractive layout of impressive Garibaldi gardens with their distinctive fig trees makes this one of Palermo''s most picturesque spots. Facing each other in the square are Santa Maria dei Miracoli church and 17th century Denti Fatta and 18th century Notarbartolo Greco palaces.
This Norman Castle or "Zisa Castle" was completed by William II during the 12th century, and is considered one of the most magnificent Arab-Norman structures in the world.
The Santa Rosalia Sanctuary is located 430m above sea level, at the top of some steps that were cut out of the rock. Built in 1625, it houses a church and a convent.It goes 25m deep into the cave. This is probably where they found the relic of the "Santuzza" - or "little saint", the short name given to Santa Rosalia dai Palermitani. Upon entering the cave through an iron gate you feel a bit intimidated. At the back of the cave a simple yet impressive altar can be found, illuminated by some moveable lights. Behind the altar, carved in the rock, there is a marble statue of the Virgin Inmaculate dating from the 18th century. On the left, inside a little hole made on the stonewall, a marble figure represents the saint''s head. A very moving visit.