Palermo
PALERMO INTRODUCTION
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Palermo spent almost two and a half centuries under Arab rule, from 831 to 1071. The Saracens made it the capital of Sicily and turned it into a major city, leaving their mark on the local culture,...
THE WONDERS OF LOCAL CUISINE
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A tasty typical lunch might begin with traditional local starters such as caponata, fried pieces of eggplant cooked in a sweet and sour tomato sauce with celery, capers, onion and crushed green...
PALAZZO DEI NORMANNI AND PALATINE CHAPEL
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Thus, the construction you can admire today is for the most part the result of work carried out on the orders of the Norman, Roger II. After he became king of Sicily in 1130, he transferred his...
TEATRO MASSIMO OPERA HOUSE
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The decision to build the opera house was taken by the city council, and it was named after the King of Italy, Vittorio Emanuele, a clear symbol of Palermo’s new identity as a city of unified...
CATHEDRAL
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The Norman king, William II, known as the Good, wanted to have a new cathedral built in Monreale, where he intended to create a church of unprecedented splendor. The archbishop Walter Ophamil, in...
LA MARTORANA CHURCH
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The main part of the church, the part around the dome, was completed in 1143. In 1185, there was an addition of an elegant entrance area, composed of a hall with splendid mosaic decorations, preceded...
MONREALE CATHEDRAL
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By 1183, most of the work had been completed, including the church, with its extraordinary cloister, and the royal palace, which has now all but disappeared; the elegant portico on the left side was...
QUATTRO CANTI
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The Viceroy García de Toledo built a new port and expanded Via del Cassaro, the present-day Via Vittorio Emanuele, while the Viceroy de Cardenas, the Duke of Maqueda, opened Via Maqueda,...
CHURCH OF THE GESÙ
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In 1549, the Jesuits were summoned to Palermo to preach and to take care of public education. The Norman abbey of Santa Maria la Grotta was thus given over to them to be turned into a Casa Professa,...
CHURCH OF SAN GIOVANNI DEGLI EREMITI
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It was built on the spot of an ancient monastery that the Arabs destroyed and replaced with a mosque. When the Normans arrived, however, part of the mosque was demolished and around 1150, Roger II...
PALAZZO ABATELLIS AND REGIONAL GALLERY OF SICILY
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This austere, elegant edifice was built between 1490 and 1495 by Matteo Carnelivari for the rich, influential Francesco Abatellis, Port Master of the Kingdom of Sicily, on the main road of the...
CHURCH OF SAN CATALDO
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The church was probably built around 1154 by the Great Admiral of Sicily Maio of Bari, the successor of George of Antioch, the most powerful figure in the kingdom after William I.
Maio was originally...
ZISA
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In 1636, the luxurious residence, still used by princes and rulers, underwent restoration work. It was shamefully neglected for much of the 20th century until 1972, when the entire right side of the...
ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM
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As a result of the reorganization work under way, it may only be possible to visit the ground floor. In the little rooms looking onto the portico, however, you can see some exceptional artefacts...
ORATORY OF THE ROSARY
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Oratories were places in which members – noblemen or rich merchants – would gather to recite the rosary, or a series of Hail Marys, sometimes followed by psalms. This custom grew...
CAPUCHIN CATACOMBS
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Initially, the cemetery was reserved for friars from only the convent, but it was later opened to others provided that they had contributed to the construction of the church. The first...
