What to See in Palermo - Top Sights and Attractions

Church famous for its mosaic works. The Palatine Chapel is the royal chapel of the Norman Palace in Palermo, Sicily. This building is a mixture of Byzantine, Norman and Fatimid architectural styles, showing the tricultural state of Sicily during the 12th century after Roger I and Robert Guiscard conquered the island.

Also referred to as a Palace church or Palace chapel, it was commissioned by Roger II of Sicily in 1132 to be built upon an older chapel (now the crypt) constructed around 1080. It took eight years to build, receiving a royal charter the same year, with the mosaics being only partially finished by 1143. The sanctuary, dedicated to Saint Peter, is reminiscent of a domed basilica. It has three apses, as is usual in Byzantine architecture, with six pointed arches (three on each side of the central nave) resting on recycled classical columns. The muqarnas ceiling of the nave and the chapel's rectilinear form show the Fatimid influence in the building's construction^[3]

Vibrant Byzantine mosaics in 1143 church. The Church of St. Mary of the Admiral, also called Martorana, is the seat of the Parish of San Nicolò dei Greci, overlooking the Piazza Bellini, next to the norman church of San Cataldo, and facing the Baroque church of Santa Caterina in Palermo, Sicily, southern Italy.

The church is a Co-cathedral to the Eparchy of Piana degli Albanesi of the Italo-Albanian Catholic Church, a diocese which includes the Italo-Albanian (Arbëreshë) communities in Sicily who officiate the liturgy according to the Byzantine Rite in the Ancient Greek language and Albanian language The Church bears witness to the Eastern religious and artistic culture still present in Italy today, further contributed by the Albanian exiles who took refuge in southern Italy and Sicily from the 15th century under the pressure of Turkish-Ottoman persecutions in Albania and the Balkans. The latter influence has left considerable traces in the painting of icons, in the religious rite, in the language of the parish, in the traditional customs of some Albanian colonies in the province of Palermo. The community is part of the Catholic Church, but follows the ritual and spiritual traditions that largely share it with the Eastern Orthodox Church.

The church is characterized by the multiplicity of styles that meet, because, with the succession of centuries, it was enriched by various other tastes in art, architecture and culture. Today, it is, in fact, as a church-historical monument, the result of multiple transformations, also subject to protection.

Since 3 July 2015 it has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site known as Arab-Norman Palermo and the Cathedral Churches of Cefalù and Monreale.^[4]

Grand square with symmetrical fountains. Quattro Canti, officially known as Piazza Vigliena, is a Baroque square in Palermo, region of Sicily, Italy; it is considered the center of the historic quarters of the city. The site is the intersection of two major streets in Palermo, the Via Maqueda and the Corso Vittorio Emanuele, and at this intersection are the corners of all four of the ancient quarters of Palermo: the Kalsa; Seralcadi; Albergaria; and Castellammare. On the southwest corner stands the church of San Giuseppe dei Padre Teatini. A few steps away along the flank of this church, behind the Southeast corner building, along Via Maqueda is the Piazza and Fontana Pretoria, sandwiched between this church and Santa Caterina. A few more steps reaches San Cataldo and the ancient Norman church of La Martorana. About 500 meters west along the Cassaro is the piazza of the Cathedral of Palermo and the adjacent Palazzo Normani.^[6]

Catholic church in Palermo, Italy. Santa Caterina d'Alessandria or Saint Catherine of Alexandria is a Roman Catholic church with a main facade on Piazza Bellini, and a lateral Western facade facing the elaborate Fontana Pretoria, in the historic quarter of Kalsa in the city of Palermo, region of Sicily, Italy. In front of the main facade, across the piazza Bellini, rise the older churches of San Cataldo and Santa Maria dell'Ammiraglio, while across Piazza Pretoria is the Theatine church of San Giuseppe and the entrance to the Piazza of Quattro Canti. Refurbished over the centuries, the church retains elements and decorations from the Renaissance, Baroque, and late-Baroque eras. This church is distinct from the Oratorio di Santa Caterina found in the Olivella neighborhood.^[13]

Restored remains of a Moorish palace. The Zisa is alternatively listed as either a castle or palace, and located in the western area of Palemo, region of Sicily, Italy. The edifice was begun around 1165 by an Moorish craftsman under the rule of the Norman conquerer of Sicily, king William I of Sicily. It was not finished until 1189 was under the rule of William II. It is presently open to the public for tours.

The name Zisa derives from the Arab term al-Azīz, meaning "dear" or "splendid". The same word, in Naskh script, is impressed in the entrance, according to the usual habit for the main Islamic edifices of the time. The structure was conceived as a summer residence for the Norman kings, as a part of the large hunting resort known as Genoardo (Arabic: Jannat al-arḍ, literally "Earthly Paradise") that included also the Cuba Sottana, the Cuba Soprana and the Uscibene palace, and extensive gardens, of which no traces remain. Joan of England, Queen of Sicily, widow of William II, was confined to the palace by the new king Tancred of Sicily due to her backing Princess Constance aunt of William II to ascend the throne.

At the end of the 15th century the building fell into disrepair while in private hands. In 1635, a new owner, Giovanni de Sandoval, cousin to the Viceroy of Sicily, acquired the palace for free due to its poor state. The palace remained in the hands of the Sandoval family until 1808, when it was eventually fell again to ruin once again. From 1808 to the 1950s the building was used a residence by the princes Notarbartolo di Sciara. In the 1990s, the building was picked up for restoration by the Region of Scallia. In July 2015 it was included in the UNESCO Arab-Norman Palermo and the Cathedral Churches of Cefalù and Monreale World Heritage Site.^[15]

Estate decked with statues of monsters. The Villa Palagonia is a patrician villa in Bagheria, 15 km from Palermo, in Sicily, southern Italy. The villa itself, built from 1715 by the architect Tommaso Napoli with the help of Agatino Daidone, is one of the earliest examples of Sicilian Baroque. However, its popularity comes mainly from the statues of monsters with human faces that decorate its garden and its wall, and earned it the nickname of "The Villa of Monsters".

This series of grotesques, created from 1749 by Francesco Ferdinando II Gravina, Prince of Palagonia, aroused the curiosity of the travellers of the Grand Tour during the 18th and 19th centuries, for instance Henry Swinburne, Patrick Brydone, John Soane, Goethe, the Count de Borde, the artist Jean-Pierre Houël or Alexandre Dumas, prior to fascinate surrealists like André Breton or contemporary authors such as Giovanni Macchia and Dominique Fernandez, or the painter Renato Guttuso.

In 1885, the villa was bought by private individuals, who are still in its possession, and is partially open to the public.

Villa Palagonia has been one of the venues for music concerts held within the framework of the Concert Season of Bagheria (Stagione Concertistica Città di Bagheria) initiative since 2017, with free entrance.^[17]

12th-century pavilion and necropolis. The Cuba is a palace in the Sicilian city of Palermo. It was built in 1180 by William II of Sicily in his great Royal Park, as his personal recreation pavilion, together with an artificial lake: it shows strong Fatimid art influences, as it was designed and decorated by Arab artists still living in Palermo after the Norman conquest in 1072. During the rule of Bourbon kings of Naples it was annexed to a barracks. In the 16th century it was turned into a lepers' colony.

The edifice has a rectangular plan, with massive forms. The four façades are marked by blind arcades, small windows, and niches. The name Cuba derives in fact from its approximately cubical form. The famous Italian Middle Ages author Boccaccio was impressed by the Cuba and set here one of the novellas included in the Decameron.

The Cubola or Little Cuba is another edifice built by William II for his park, in smaller dimensions. The most striking feature of the Cubola is the little hemi-spherical cupola.

This place has nothing to do with the island country in the Caribbean.^[25]

Piazza Bellini is a square of Palermo. It is located in the heart of the city, near the central Via Maqueda and Piazza Pretoria, in the quarter of the Kalsa, within the historic centre of Palermo.

In its perimeter are located two buildings dating back to the era of Norman Sicily: the churches of Martorana and San Cataldo (both are UNESCO World Heritage Sites as part of Arab-Norman Palermo and the Cathedral Churches of Cefalù and Monreale). In the square are also located the Baroque church of Santa Caterina, the Bellini Theatre and the posterior facade of Palazzo Pretorio, headquarters of the Comune of Palermo. Moreover, in the square some ruins of Punic walls are visible. Near the square, in Via Maqueda, has its location the Faculty of Jurisprudence.^[26]

Piazza Castelnuovo is a square of Palermo. Along with the contiguous Piazza Ruggero Settimo, it forms a single urban space, commonly called Piazza Politeama, by virtue of the presence of Teatro Politeama, the second most important theatre of the city after Teatro Massimo. The square is located between Via Ruggero Settimo, Viale della Libertà and Via Dante, near the historic centre of Palermo, and represents one of the most popular city's square.

On Piazza Castelnuovo are located a structure called "Palchetto della Musica" (work of Salvatore Valenti), the monument to Carlo Cottone (work of Giovan Battista Palazzotto and Domenico Costantino), the sculptures "Nautica" (work of Mario Rutelli), "Lavoro" (work of Benedetto Civiletti) and "Senzatetto" (work of Pasquale Civiletti).

The square is named after Carlo Cottone, prince of Castelnuovo, one of the advocate of the Sicilian Constitution of 1812.^[32]

Hill with a unusual cave shrine. Mount Pellegrino is a hill facing east on the bay of Palermo, Sicily, southern Italy, located north of the city.

It is 606 metres (1,970 ft) high with panorama views of the city, its surrounding mountains and the Tyrrhenian Sea. In his book Travels in Italy, Goethe described Monte Pellegrino as the most beautiful promontory in the world.

The mountain is home to the Santuario di Santa Rosalia, venerating a patron saint of Palermo. Separate is a seashore facing belvedere with a Statue of Santa Rosalia.

In addition, the paleolithic grafitti of the Grotta dell'Addaura were found on this mountain in 1943, but the site is no longer accessible.

From Palermo, is visible the pink Castello Utveggio on a lower promontory.^[34]