What to see in Palermo

The Sicilian Regional Assembly, which sits in the palace, calls it the oldest royal residence in Europe. Traces of Punic settlements remain in the cellars; the first part of the palace dates from the Arab period. The Norman kings chose it as their residence and designed it as a fortress, using the techniques of Muslim craftsmen; the present complex also reflects additions of the 16th-17th centuries. Today it houses the Sicilian Parliament.

The Palatine Chapel was commissioned by Roger II after his coronation in 1130, was consecrated in 1140 and is dedicated to Saint Peter. Byzantine, Islamic and Latin craftsmen worked on it. Guy de Maupassant called it "the most beautiful that exists in the world".

• In the chapel's dome stands Christ Pantocrator, repeated in the central apse. Among the mosaics of the presbytery, the baptism of Christ stands out.
• The wooden ceiling is decorated "a muqarnas" and looks like a beehive hung with stalactites. The paintings show court scenes (dancing, music, banquets, hunters) and there are Arabic inscriptions in honour of Roger II. It is made of interlocking pieces, entirely of abies nebrodensis, a local fir.
• The Sala di Ruggero is named after Roger II, but its hunting-scene mosaics are the work of his son William I.
• The Sala dei Venti, in a medieval tower called Joharia, has an 18th-century wooden ceiling with a wind rose at its centre. The Sala dei Viceré displays 21 portraits. In the Sala d'Ercole the regional deputies have met since 1947.
• The Royal Gardens are an optional part of the route.

The full ticket covers the Chapel, the exhibition and the rooms of the Royal Apartments (except two), with the gardens optional. On days of parliamentary activity the Apartments are closed: the Foundation says Tuesday and Wednesday (with a reduced "Chapel and Gardens" ticket), the ARS says Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. On those days the Chapel can still be visited, unless there are religious services. Every Sunday the Chapel is closed from 9:30 to 11:00. Online tickets can be bought up to 20 minutes before the last entry.

Animals are not allowed (not even in a carrier, except guide dogs) and there is no luggage storage. The Chapel, Sala d'Ercole, Sala dei Viceré, Sala Pompeiana, Sala Cinese, bookshop and Royal Gardens are accessible; the Sala di Re Ruggero, the Torre Pisana and the archaeological area of the Punic Walls are not. Audio guides are available in six languages.

Bus: terminus of line 304; lines 104, 108, 118, 105 and 110 are also useful. By metro get off at Orleans and walk through the pedestrian area past Porta Nuova to Piazza del Parlamento. The other stops of the UNESCO site "Arab-Norman Palermo" are the Cathedral, San Giovanni degli Eremiti, the Martorana, San Cataldo, the Zisa and the Ammiraglio Bridge.

• According to Filagato da Cerami, the chapel's ceiling once shone with gold.
• The ARS describes itself as "the first Italian parliament and one of the oldest in Europe".

We did not find on official sources: how much time to allow, whether any dress code applies, the rules on photos and silence, the quietest times, walking distances to the other sights. Sources disagree on the century of the first Arab construction (9th or 10th), so we do not state it.

It is "the history book of Palermo", as the City calls it: the same building has been a church, a mosque and a church again. An early Christian cathedral was rebuilt between 590 and 602; in 831 the Saracens turned it into the great mosque; in 1072 the Normans gave it back to Christian worship.

The present cathedral, commissioned by Archbishop Walter of the Mill (Gualtiero Offamilio), was consecrated in 1185 (the year work began is uncertain). It has changed a lot over the centuries, which is why you see several styles together.

• The south porch on Corso Vittorio Emanuele (1453), in Catalan flamboyant Gothic, with a mosaic of the Madonna and Child. On the first column on the left is a Quranic inscription left from the mosque.
• Outside, the three apses with lava-stone inlays and the carved heads around the bell tower.
• Inside, Ferdinando Fuga's neoclassical restoration (1781-1801) gave the church its Latin-cross plan and dome.
• The royal tombs: Frederick II, Henry VI, Constance of Hauteville (Frederick's mother), Roger II and Constance of Aragon (Frederick's wife) rest here.
• In the Treasury, the crown of Constance of Aragon and the objects found in her tomb.
• The chapel of Saint Rosalia (1635), with her relics in a silver urn, found on Monte Pellegrino on 15 July 1624.
• In the floor, a sundial designed by the astronomer Giuseppe Piazzi: at noon a ray of sun enters through a hole and marks the time.
• The crypt with the archbishops' tombs, and the roofs, with a panoramic walk.

You reach the roofs with the Monumental Area ticket, which also includes the treasury, crypt and royal tombs. Not allowed for people with heart conditions, claustrophobia, vertigo or anxiety attacks; comfortable shoes are best. The roofs may close for events or bad weather.

The three naves are free; the Monumental Area (tombs, Treasury, crypt, roofs) requires a ticket. No booking is needed, and tickets are sold at the ticket office or online. The roofs are not allowed for people with heart conditions, claustrophobia, vertigo, psychophysical disabilities or anxiety attacks; comfortable shoes are best, and in bad weather the visit is postponed.

Masses are held Mon-Sat at 7:30 and 18:00; on Sundays at 8:45, 9:45, 11:00 and 18:00 (reduced schedule in August). An official app has over 60 points of interest, in Italian, English, Spanish and Chinese.

The Cathedral is in a limited-traffic zone: you arrive on foot or by public transport (the site recommends the Moovit app). The Diocesan Museum can be visited with the same combined ticket. The other UNESCO stops are the Norman Palace and Palatine Chapel, San Giovanni degli Eremiti, the Martorana and San Cataldo.

• Saint Rosalia has been Palermo's patron since 1624 for freeing the city from the plague; on 15 July her relics are carried in procession (the Festino).
• In a passage next to the Treasury room there is a muqarnas ceiling that many scholars believe belongs to the mosque, and a stretch of its brick floor has also come to light there.

Hours and prices of the Monumental Area: the official site publishes them partly as images from 2023 and the City warns that its own may be out of date; sources also contradict each other on a visit to the royal tombs alone. We did not find any dress code, recommended duration, quietest times, bus lines or walking distances. For the sundial we give no measurements or dates, because we only find them on an unofficial site.

It is one of Palermo's most recognisable churches, with red domes rising from a garden below the walls of the Royal Palace. It was commissioned by Roger II for Benedictine monks around 1130 (sources give 1131 or 1132). According to tradition, an ancient monastery dedicated to Saint Hermes, linked to Pope Gregory the Great, once stood on the site: the name "of the Hermits" would come from a corruption of Hermes.

The church and garden served as burial places for high officials of the crown and members of the royal family. Since 3 July 2015 it has been part of the UNESCO site "Arab-Norman Palermo and the Cathedrals of Cefalù and Monreale".

• The red hemispherical domes on cubic volumes: the square-and-circle scheme evokes earth and sky, a motif common to Islamic and Byzantine cultures. The present domes were restored in the 19th century by Giuseppe Patricolo and are perhaps similar to the originals.
• The interior is bare: the corner niches that support the domes are the only ornament left of walls that were once painted. The plan is a "croce commissa", that is, T-shaped.
• The cloister, with paired columns, pointed arches and a well in the centre. It does not appear in a diploma of 1148 and some authors date it to about 1300. In 1836 Viollet-le-Duc described it as "almost Moorish".
• The garden with citrus trees, loquats and laurels.
• The so-called "Arab Room", reached through a small passage from the church, with two medieval frescoes of uncertain date. Giuseppe Patricolo rediscovered there part of an older structure, which he took to be a mosque: this interpretation remains uncertain.
• The bell tower, west of the transept, has three tiers of windows; the pointed ones originally had arabesque plaster screens.

It is in the historic centre, right below the walls of the Norman Palace, a few steps away. Next door is the church of San Giorgio in Kemonia, separated by a wall since 1884-1885.

• In 1524 Clement VII granted the monastery to the Cassinese monks of Monreale; in 1848 the complex was requisitioned by the War Ministry and housed soldiers.
• In 1864 the cloister had no roof and in 1871 14 columns were missing, replaced by props. From 1874-1876 the houses built against the church were demolished to bring it into view.
• In 1912 the red plaster of the domes was redone with lime, powdered brick and cow's milk tinted red with "iron ore".

We did not find on official sources the length of the visit, rules, accessibility, booking, quiet times and public transport lines. The founding year varies between sources, and the dating of the cloister and of the Arab Room is debated: we do not present them as certain. The street number also differs (Via dei Benedettini 20 for the City, 16 for another source).

It was built in 1143 at the wish of George of Antioch, grand admiral of Roger II (one source gives 1145). Artists from Constantinople worked on the mosaics between 1140 and 1155. The name "Martorana" comes from the nearby Benedictine monastery founded in 1193 by Eloisa Martorana; in the first half of the 15th century the church was handed over to the Benedictine nuns.

The Arab traveller Ibn Jubayr saw it in December 1184 and described its interior walls adorned with gold and coloured marbles "never seen before". Since 1937 it has belonged to the Eparchy of Piana degli Albanesi and the Byzantine-Greek rite is celebrated here. Since 2015 it has been part of the Arab-Norman UNESCO site.

• In the dome, Christ Pantocrator giving a blessing; below, four archangels, eight prophets and the four evangelists in the corner niches.
• Two mosaic panels: George of Antioch prostrate before the Virgin, and Roger II crowned by Christ.
• The Annunciation on the eastern arch, the Presentation in the Temple on the western arch, the Nativity and the Dormition of the Virgin on the vault of the western arm.
• A wooden frieze with a Kufic inscription painted white on a blue ground carries a hymn of the Byzantine liturgy in Arabic.
• The opus sectile floor, eleven panels with quincunx and geometric patterns, from the time of the church (1140s).
• A building that tells its own changes: the original façade was demolished in the late 16th century, the Baroque façade is by Nicolò Palma (1750), and in 1870 Giuseppe Patricolo removed part of the Baroque decoration. The bell tower was originally freestanding.

In the historic centre, on Piazza Bellini, next to San Cataldo and facing Santa Caterina d'Alessandria. It is part of the Circuito del Sacro (14 sites, including San Cataldo and the Cathedral).

• The monastery's nuns were known for fruit made of almond paste, called "frutta di Martorana", prepared for the Day of the Dead on 2 November.
• The choir rests on columns taken from earlier Norman buildings.

We did not find on official sources visiting rules, accessibility, duration, public transport lines and walking distances. Sources do not agree on the year of construction (1143 or 1145), on the date it was handed to the nuns, or on the exact position of the panel of George of Antioch: that is why we do not indicate it. The Baroque decorations are not described by any official source we could verify.

Built between 1154 and 1160 under William I, the Ministry of Culture's record calls it "a complete architectural masterpiece", conceived by Islamic craftsmen according to Western Romanesque criteria. Its founder is debated: most scholars attribute it to Admiral Maio of Bari (it began as a chapel attached to his palace), but other hypotheses name Silvestro of Marsico or others.

Its three red domes, together with those of San Giovanni degli Eremiti, are an icon of Palermo. Since 2015 it has been part of the Arab-Norman UNESCO site.

• The exterior: walls of small squared calcarenite blocks, blind arcades framing three single-light windows per side, an openwork crowning of Fatimid type. The battlements were added in Giuseppe Patricolo's restoration.
• Three hemispherical domes on a low drum cover the central nave; the aisles have cross vaults.
• The interior has three naves, the central one twice as wide as the side ones; four columns support pointed arches, with capitals partly reused. The apse projects and rises the full height of the building.
• The opus sectile floor, with Egyptian porphyry and Greek serpentine, reused materials of Roman date. It contrasts with the bare walls.
• The white marble altar with a central cross and the symbols of the evangelists, and the funerary slab of Matilda, daughter of Silvestro of Marsico.

The church stands on a terrace in Piazza Bellini, reached by a staircase on the north side, next to the Martorana and facing Santa Caterina d'Alessandria. The official address is Largo Cavalieri del Santo Sepolcro, with an alternative access from Via Maqueda. It is part of the Circuito del Sacro.

• In 1175 it was ceded to the Royal Customs House; it then belonged to Monreale Abbey for over five centuries.
• By royal decree of 16 April 1787 the Royal Post Office moved in, and a neoclassical complex by Alessandro Emmanuele Marvuglia was built all around it, enclosing it. From 1867 the interior was used for sorting mail; in 1868 the floor was covered with planking.
• Giuseppe Patricolo's restoration (1882-1885) freed it from the added structures and removed the Baroque shed that covered the three domes: it was largely a reconstruction, since only about 10% of the original building fabric remained.
• In 1937 it was donated to the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, which keeps it open to visitors.

We did not find on official sources the length of the visit, rules on photos and dress, accessibility, booking, quiet times and public transport lines. Hours vary between sources (the City's apply, shown in the box). Sources contradict each other on how the church passed to the monks of Monreale, so we give neither a year nor a donor.

It is a pleasure palace (a "sollazzo") that the Norman kings used in summer, built outside the old walls by skilled Muslim craftsmen in the royal park of the Genoardo. It was begun by William I around 1165 and completed under William II. The name comes from the Arabic al-Aziz, "noble", "magnificent". Since 2015 it has been part of the Arab-Norman UNESCO site.

• The Fountain Hall, at the centre of the palace, decorated with marble, mosaics and muqarnas niches: a water channel ran through it to an outdoor pool, evoking the paradise garden.
• A system for ventilating and cooling the rooms: the main façade faces north-east, so the sea breeze helps natural ventilation.
• The structure: a rectangular, symmetrical building on three floors. On the ground floor the rooms for feasts and ceremonies, above them the apartments; at the centre the Fountain Hall and the Belvedere Hall.
• Above the entrance to the Fountain Hall a Baroque-era fresco shows devils who, according to legend, guard a hidden treasure.
• The Museum of Islamic Art, with works from Sicily and the Mediterranean from the 9th to the 12th century.

Next to the palace is the Chapel of the Holy Trinity at the Zisa (Piazza Zisa 43). For other Norman stops in Palermo, Visit Sicily suggests a route through the other castles.

• The palace has undergone restorations and alterations "not always beneficial" and has only recently been returned to public use.

We did not find on official sources the length of the visit, visiting rules, accessibility, booking, quiet times and public transport lines. Official sources disagree on when the work was finished (1167 or by 1180), so we give only the start. Hours found online are inconsistent: the City's apply, in the box. The address is "Piazza Guglielmo il Buono" for the City and "Piazza Zisa" for another site.

It is the hub of the historic centre: the octagonal square stands at the crossing of Via Maqueda and the Cassaro (today Corso Vittorio Emanuele), which divide the city into the four ancient districts. It was designed in the early 17th century by the Florentine architect Giulio Lasso and completed by Mariano Smiriglio. Its official name, Piazza Vigliena, comes from the viceroy Juan Fernández Pacheco, Marquis of Vigliena. It is also called the "Theatre of the Sun", because during the day the sun always lights at least one of the four façades.

The square grew out of the temporary structures built for viceregal processions: some of those ephemeral stage sets remained, in stone. In the past it hosted public festivals and executions, hence the name "theatre of the city".

• Each façade has four tiers: at the bottom a fountain with one of the city's rivers, then the allegory of a season, the statue of a Spanish king and, at the top, a patron saint protecting a district.
• The seasons: Spring (Venus with flowers), Summer (Ceres with sheaves), Autumn (Bacchus) and Winter (Aeolus with a lantern).
• The Spanish kings on the third tier: Charles V, Philip II, Philip III and Philip IV.
• On the topmost tier the patron saints Christina, Nympha, Olivia and Agatha, each protecting a district.
• The fountain basins you see today are 19th-century: the marble ones were replaced after 1860.

The Quattro Canti are explored on foot. Piazza Pretoria with its fountain is two steps away, and the Cassaro and Via Maqueda cross around the square. The nearest taxi ranks listed by the University are in Piazza Verdi (Teatro Massimo) and at the Politeama.

Every 14 July the square hosts the most important stop of the procession of the Festino of Saint Rosalia. Work on the Cassaro began in 1567 and finished only in the early 1580s.

A restoration site at the Quattro Canti was announced in February 2026 (€1.2 million, expected to last about 6 months): we have no official confirmation of whether it is under way or finished, so we cannot say. We did not find on official sources the completion date, the sculptors of the statues, bus lines, length of the visit and accessibility. The design dates from 1608 according to the Metropolitan City and 1617 according to another source: we only write "early 17th century".

In Piazza Pretoria, a few steps from the Quattro Canti, the fountain is the work of the Florentine sculptor Francesco Camilliani. It was made in Florence around the middle of the 16th century (1554 according to FAI and the Metropolitan City) for the garden of Don Luigi de Toledo. In 1573, because of the Toledo family's debts, it was sold to the Palermo Senate for 20,000 scudi; it arrived in 1574 dismantled into 644 pieces, and his son Camillo Camilliani reassembled it, finishing around 1581.

Palermitans also call it "Square of Shame". The explanations handed down differ: the nudity of the statues, the huge sum spent by the Senate, discontent with the city administration. Giorgio Vasari, in his Lives, called it a fountain without equal in Florence "and perhaps in Italy".

• Palazzo Pretorio, or Palazzo delle Aquile, seat of the City Council. In 1875 Giuseppe Damiani Almeyda redesigned it in neo-Renaissance style. Inside are the Sala delle Lapidi, now the council chamber with walls covered in marble inscriptions and a 17th-century wooden chandelier carved from a single piece, and the Sala Garibaldi, from whose balcony Garibaldi spoke to the crowd in 1860.
• The church of Santa Caterina (late 16th century), Palazzo Bonocore and Palazzo Bordonaro. On the fourth side a staircase descends towards Via Maqueda.
• The poet Antonino Veneziano of Monreale reinterpreted its symbolic meaning in a Palermitan key.

The measurements of the fountain, the number of statues and other details come from single sources and we do not give them. The fountain's dates vary between sources (1544, 1554 or 1552-55): here we follow FAI and the Metropolitan City. The hours of the Palazzo delle Aquile come from a 2011 listing: ask the City. We did not find bus lines, duration and accessibility, nor the current state of the restoration of Santa Caterina.

It is the largest opera house in Italy, according to the City. The competition was announced in 1864 and in 1868 Giovan Battista Filippo Basile won; the foundation stone was laid on 12 January 1875. Basile died in 1891 and his son Ernesto completed the work, inaugurated on 16 May 1897 with Verdi's "Falstaff".

It closed in 1974 for restoration and reopened on 12 May 1997. When it opened, at 7,730 m², it was the third largest theatre in Europe, after the Paris Opéra and the Vienna Staatsoper.

• Outside, the portico with six Corinthian columns, the staircase with two bronze lion groups (Tragedy and Lyric) and the frieze "Art renews the peoples".
• The horseshoe-shaped main hall, with five tiers of 31 boxes plus the gallery, up to 1,247 spectators and renowned acoustics.
• The ceiling, the "symbolic wheel" of 11 panels with the Triumph of Music, which open upwards to ventilate the hall.
• The Royal Box, with its private lounge, the Salone del Sovrano: mahogany panelling, a Murano chandelier, nine mirrors and the Savoy coat of arms.
• The Sala Pompeiana, circular and built around the number 7. It is called the "echo room" because sound reverberates in it.
• The curtain painted by Giuseppe Sciuti showing the coronation procession of Roger II.

The guided tour lasts about 40 minutes and covers the main hall, the lounge of the Royal Box, the Sala Pompeiana, the Sala degli Stemmi and the foyer; 3D models and tactile maps for blind and partially sighted visitors are available. Tours are in Italian, English, French, Spanish and German. Tickets are sold at the ticket office, online, on TicketOne or GetYourGuide; groups (minimum 10 people) book directly. There is also a backstage tour of the stage for €5 more, at times to be arranged.

For accessibility the entrance is no. 4, to the left of the main one (lodge 091 6053521); there are two lifts, accessible toilets and a wheelchair available. The 2026-27 season opens with "Samson et Dalila" from 22 to 29 November 2026.

In Piazza Verdi. AMAT buses 101, 102, 104, 106 and 108; taxis in the square and bike sharing at the corner with Via Rossini. On foot: about 5 minutes from Piazza Ruggero Settimo and the Capo market, 10 from the Quattro Canti, 15 from the central station, the port and the Cathedral.

• In 1990 the theatre was the setting for scenes of Coppola's "The Godfather Part III", including the debut in "Cavalleria rusticana".
• Tradition has it that "la monachella", a nun whose grave was said to have been disturbed during construction, haunts the theatre: three churches and three monasteries were expropriated to build it.
• Luciano Pavarotti (in 1962, in "Rigoletto") and a young Enrico Caruso made their debuts on its stage.

Winter hours: the City says until 18:00, the theatre's own site says 9:30-19:00 all year (the theatre's site prevails). We did not find rules on photos or dress, quieter times, parking, or the walking distance from the Politeama. The City's prices are still those from before 1 July 2026: the theatre's site prices apply.

The Politeama Garibaldi was designed by Giuseppe Damiani Almeyda and conceived as a "theatre of the people", for operettas, comedies, dramas and circus and equestrian shows: the Teatro Massimo, by contrast, was aimed at the aristocratic public. The idea dates from 1859; in 1865 an internal competition chose the design of a polyvalent daytime theatre. It was built between 1867 and 1874 and opened in 1874, still incomplete, with Bellini's "I Capuleti e i Montecchi". It was inaugurated in its final form in 1891, during the National Exhibition, with Verdi's "Otello" sung by Francesco Tamagno, in the presence of the Royal Family. Since 2009 it has been the home of the Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana.

• The entrance is a triumphal arch in Napoleonic style, and the circular body recalls the Pantheon in Rome.
• Above the entrance, the bronze quadriga of Apollo by the sculptor Mario Rutelli, accompanied by a pair of bronze horses by Benedetto Civiletti.
• Inside, a frescoed horseshoe-shaped hall, with two tiers of boxes and a large gallery.

Visits and tickets go through the ticket office of the Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana Foundation, in Piazza Ruggiero Settimo (tel. 091 6072532/533). There is a taxi rank at the Politeama.

• The Palermo Gallery of Modern Art was inaugurated in the Politeama's Ridotto on 24 May 1910. Since 2006 it has been in the Sant'Anna alla Misericordia complex (Via Sant'Anna 21), with 236 works in 24 rooms.

We did not find up-to-date guided tours (days, times, prices, duration, languages): sources from 2016, 2018 and a local site disagree, so ask the ticket office. We have no verified capacity, ordinary bus lines, walking distance from the Quattro Canti, rules or accessibility.

The historic markets are the most direct way to see Palermo at work: stalls, vendors' calls, smells and street food. The three main ones are Ballarò, the Capo and the Vucciria. Sources disagree on which is the oldest or largest, so we assign no records: all are among the city's historic markets.

Vendors use rhetorical skill, metaphorical language and song to sell: their calls are called "abbanniate". In the markets the stalls are often arranged in pyramids, the "paratura ra putia" (the dressing of the shop).

• In the Albergheria district, between Corso Tukory, Via Maqueda and Corso Vittorio Emanuele, with its heart in Piazza del Carmine and Piazza Ballarò.
• According to the italia.it portal the name comes from the Arabic "Balhara", a Muslim village near Monreale from which the first vendors came.
• Stalls with spices, fresh and dried fruit and African products from Senegal, Ghana and Nigeria (potatoes, cocoyam, fried bananas, chillies, dried fish, Indian rice). Street food such as panelle and pani câ mèusa (spleen sandwich).
• According to italia.it the best time is the morning.

• Porta Carini is the physical and symbolic entrance; the market runs between Via Porta Carini, Piazza Capo, Via Cappuccinelle and Via Beati Paoli, behind the Teatro Massimo (about 5 minutes on foot).
• Towards the south it continues along Via Sant'Agostino, where it specialises in fabrics.

• Its heart is Piazza Caracciolo, where in the Angevin period the city's largest slaughterhouse stood; no trace remains today. The market extends between Piazza San Domenico and Corso Vittorio Emanuele.
• The name is tied to the butcher's trade (in Sicilian "vuccèri"). Once devoted to meat, it is now reorganised for fruit and vegetables, with stalls of various kinds.

The historic centre has its hub at the Quattro Canti. From the Teatro Massimo the Capo market is about 5 minutes on foot, the Quattro Canti about 10, the central station, port and Cathedral about 15. For bus lines check the AMAT site. The University lists a limited-traffic zone in the historic centre (Mon-Fri 8-20, Saturday 8-13, not active on Sundays and holidays): the page may be out of date, so check before driving in.

We did not find on official sources the founding dates of the three markets, the hours of the Capo and the Vucciria, the recommended duration, the rules and the City's advice. The hours of Ballarò (Mon-Sat 7-19:30, Sunday 7-13) come from the italia.it portal.

Giacomo Serpotta (Palermo 1656-1732) is the best-known Sicilian stucco artist between the 17th and 18th centuries: he raised stucco, considered a poor material, to the level of marble sculpture. His two Palermo oratories are among the city's most surprising places: Santa Cita (Confraternity of the Rosary, founded in 1570) and San Lorenzo (in the Kalsa, seat of the Confraternity of Saint Francis, founded to bury the dead of the district).

• The stuccoes were made in stages between the late 17th century and 1718 (the hall between 1686 and 1689, the presbytery in 1717-1718, according to a University of Palermo essay).
• On the entrance wall the Battle of Lepanto (1571), topped by the Coronation of Mary; at the base two emaciated children, with a crusader's helmet and a Muslim's turban, which italia.it reads as symbols of the consequences of war.
• On the side walls, small theatres with the Joyful and Sorrowful Mysteries (the Glorious ones on the inner façade), with putti as spectators above and Allegories seated at the base of the pilasters.
• On the altar the Madonna of the Rosary by Carlo Maratta, commissioned in 1689 and arrived in Palermo in 1695. At the entrance to the presbytery the biblical figures of Esther and Judith; wooden benches inlaid with mother-of-pearl.
• You enter through a late-16th-century two-tier loggia on the left side of the church of Santa Cita. Visits are suspended during religious ceremonies and weddings.

• A church had stood on the site since 1569. The architectural design of the oratory was entrusted to Giacomo Amato, the sculptural one to Giacomo Serpotta. It is in Via dell'Immacolatella, in the Kalsa.
• Perspective small theatres with the life of Saint Lawrence (left wall) and Saint Francis (right wall), alternating with allegorical statues of Faith, Humility, Constancy, Penitence (left) and Mercy, Alms, Truth, Glory (right). In the centre of the entrance wall the Martyrdom of Saint Lawrence.
• In the apse, atlantes hold up two gilded balconies with musicians; two angels support the frame that now holds the copy of the Nativity. Carved wooden stalls inlaid with mother-of-pearl.
• The vault was frescoed by Giacinto Calandrucci, a pupil of Maratta, who returned to Palermo in 1706: he died in February 1707 leaving it unfinished, and his brother Domenico completed it.

The painting that stood on the altar of San Lorenzo, Caravaggio's Nativity with Saints Lawrence and Francis (dated 1609 by the Metropolitan City), was stolen in October 1969 and has never been found. On the altar there is now a copy made by Factum Arte with digital technology, starting from a 1968 colour slide and the negatives of the 1951 restoration: it was installed in November 2015 and inaugurated on 12 December 2015 in the presence of the President of the Republic.

Sources do not agree on hours, the address of Santa Cita (Via Squarcialupo or Via Valverde 3) and the dates of the stuccoes; so we use cautious wording and the official hours in the box. We have no documented dates for the San Lorenzo stuccoes, nor duration, rules, accessibility, booking, bus lines or walking distances. On the theft of the Nativity we have no official documents: we do not report the details of the theft or the investigative leads.

It is Palermo's main museum of medieval and Renaissance art, in a late-15th-century Gothic-Catalan palace built between 1490 and 1495 for Francesco Abatellis, designed by Matteo Carnalivari. When the family died out without heirs the palace became a Dominican monastery. It was badly damaged in the Second World War and after restoration became the seat of the Regional Gallery (from 1954 according to the Region), with a layout by the Venetian architect Carlo Scarpa.

The works document the visual culture of western Sicily from the 12th to the 17th century; the most significant core comes from the National Museum of Palermo. In 2009 the 18th-century wing of the former monastery was opened to the public, extending the visit.

• The Triumph of Death: a fresco of the first half of the 15th century from Palazzo Sclafani, by an unknown author. Death bursts into an aristocratic garden and strikes men and women of different social groups.
• The bust of a gentlewoman known as Eleanor of Aragon, by Francesco Laurana: marble, 43 cm high, about 1489. It comes from the abbey of Santa Maria del Bosco at Calatamauro, where it remained for centuries. Eleanor died in 1405, almost a century before the bust: that is why the identification is debated.
• The Annunciata by Antonello da Messina: oil on panel, 45 x 34.5 cm, about 1474-1477. The Virgin has no sacred symbols, more like a portrait, in dialogue with an invisible angel placed where the viewer stands, caught just before saying "How will this be?".
• The Malvagna Triptych by Jan Gossaert, called Mabuse, which shows the arrival in Sicily of works and models from northern Europe.
• Carlo Scarpa's display, which lets you see the works from different angles. Among the collections, according to the City, are also late-medieval crosses and vases and objects of the Arab period.

Since 27 October 2020 a tactile bas-relief of the Annunciata, with a reading guide, lets blind and partially sighted visitors explore the work; there is also a 3D-printed reproduction of the bust of Eleanor. Address: Via Alloro 4. From the Central Station take Via Roma to Corso Vittorio Emanuele, turn right; at the end Piazza Marina is on the left, then Via Alloro.

Nearby on foot: Piazza Marina and Corso Vittorio Emanuele.

• The Annunciata entered the collections in 1906 through the bequest of Mgr Di Giovanni, who had bought it in Palermo as a work by Dürer; the studies of Enrico Brunelli (1904) recognised it as a masterpiece by Antonello. It was long confused with a modest copy.
• A decree of 27 June 2013 forbids the removal from Sicily, even temporarily, of 21 emblematic works of the regional museums, including the Annunciata and the bust of Eleanor.

Sources disagree on some points: the City speaks of a Benedictine monastery and an opening in 1953, the Region (which runs the museum) of a Dominican monastery and 1954, and we follow the Region. Prices and hours also differ between the City (€10/5) and the Ministry (€8/4): check before you go. We do not have the author and size of the Triumph of Death, recommended duration, rules on bags and photos, architectural barriers, bus lines and the works in the 18th-century wing.

It is one of Italy's great botanical gardens, belonging to the University of Palermo. It began with the Royal Academy of Studies (1779); the first garden was on a bastion of the city walls around 1780-81. The new garden was laid out from 22 February 1789 in the Vigna del Gallo and inaugurated on 9 December 1795 on about 12,000 m², with collections arranged according to Linnaeus's system by Bernardino da Ucria; first director Giuseppe Tineo.

The neoclassical complex was designed by the French architect Leon Dufourny. In 1954 the City Council voted unanimously for the full and permanent preservation of the garden, which the town plans of 1886 and 1946 wanted to cut through with a road. It holds about 10,000 species in about 250 families.

• The Ficus macrophylla f. columnaris ("Moreton Bay fig"), native to Queensland and New South Wales, introduced in 1845: 25 m tall, a crown of about 2,900 m², 44 trunks and a main-trunk circumference of 14.75 m. In 2022 it was voted Italian Tree of the Year.
• The Gymnasium, the central building, home of the Schola Regia Botanices. In front, two sphinxes in Billiemi stone carved by Vitale Tuccio (between 1789 and 1793): the restoration presented on 8 October 2020 revealed the bullet holes that struck them during the war.
• The Aquarium, an 18th-century pool for aquatic plants at the southern end, a gift of Archbishop Filippo Lopez y Royo: three concentric circular basins around a rock with a marble dolphin and ducks.
• The Serra Carolina, a winter garden in cast iron and glass, described as one of the ten most beautiful in Europe, and the Cactus Greenhouse restored with Hermès sponsorship.
• The exotic grove with the papyrus pond and the bamboo grove. In the scientific study is Ernesto Basile's "Torino" armchair, a prototype of 1902.

It is forbidden to pick or damage plants, or bring any in; animals (except guide dogs), bicycles (there is a rack at the entrance), skateboards and recreational equipment are not allowed; you must stay on the paths and children must always be with an adult; smoking is forbidden except in the bar areas. The City lists an accessible toilet and services for blind and partially sighted visitors. Tickets are bought online from CoopCulture; the audio guide costs €5 in Italian, English and French.

Via Lincoln 2, at the seaward end of the street, next to Villa Giulia (founded in 1777), about 600 m from the Central Station; from the station there are buses 231 and 107. The City mentions combined tickets with Palazzo Chiaramonte (Steri) and the Salinas Museum.

On the first garden the University's sources disagree (1780 or 1781, two different bastions): we write "around 1780-81". We do not give the Ficus's age in years because sources vary: only its year of introduction, 1845. The full ticket is €8 for the Museum System and €7 for the City. We did not find the recommended duration, rules on bags and dress, and details of accessible routes.

The Capuchin Catacombs are one of Palermo's most singular and impressive places: underground galleries, dug at the end of the 16th century, forming a large rectangular cemetery. The mummies, standing or lying and dressed in full clothes, are divided by sex and social category; most belong to the upper classes, because embalming was expensive. The number of bodies is not officially documented: we speak of thousands, never inventoried.

• Each body is displayed in a white niche, with period clothes and a plaque with name and date of death. The bodies are ordered along the corridors by profession, sex and social status: a cross-section of Palermo society between the 17th and 19th centuries.
• Among the categories: prelates; merchants and bourgeois in festive clothes; army officers in full dress uniform; young women who died before marriage, in wedding dress; family groups on high shelves with railings; children.

Booking is not required. Payment is at the ticket desk only: the management does not authorise vendors or online purchases. For large groups it is best to phone ahead (+39 091 6527389). From late October to late March the catacombs cannot be visited on Sunday afternoons.

Address: Piazza Cappuccini, 90129 Palermo. AMAT does not list lines and stops on its site: it refers to the Moovit planner and to the number +39 091 350 111. Next to the convent, near the church of Santa Maria della Pace, is the Capuchin Cemetery (a FAI place), created when new health regulations forbade burials in churches and catacombs. Buried there, among others, are Michele Amari, Francesco Crispi, Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa and Pio La Torre.

• According to a legend, among the mummies is that of Count Cagliostro, whom Napoleon is said to have sought in vain during a visit to the convent. It is a legend, not a documented fact.

The friars' official site was not reachable during our checks. Hours vary between sources (9:00-17:30 continuous for the Ministry, 9:00-12:30 and 15:00-17:30 for others): confirm them before going. We have no reliable date for the first burial (said to be late 16th century), no precise number of bodies, rules on photos and dress, accessibility, sensitivity warnings for children, recommended duration or bus lines.

Monte Pellegrino dominates Palermo (606 metres, according to italia.it) and is Saint Rosalia's place: her body was found in the cave on 15 July 1624, during the plague; on 27 July the Senate proclaimed her patron of the city. The first procession with the relics took place on 9 June 1625, and on 3 September 1625 the city was declared free of the plague. The sanctuary was built around the cave in 1625. According to tradition Rosalia was the daughter of Duke Sinibaldo and lived for twelve years as a hermit, first on Monte Quisquina and then on Monte Pellegrino.

The mountain has been frequented since the Mesolithic, as shown by the caves of Addaura, Caprara and Antro Nero with their rock engravings. The oldest evidence of worship on Monte Pellegrino dates from 1180.

• The sanctuary, built into the rock, has a pink façade at the top of a staircase. In the open atrium are the ex-votos, including a large anchor left by sailors.
• At the back of the cave, in a glass case under a marble canopy, is the marble statue of Rosalia asleep. The dress and the gold-leaf crown of roses were donated by Charles III of Bourbon.
• The former Franciscan convent next to the sanctuary houses a small museum with the saint's treasure.
• From the forecourt a short walk leads to the Gorgo di Santa Rosalia, a wetland of high natural interest.
• Higher up from the square, facing the sea, the statue of Saint Rosalia by Benedetto De Lisi jr. (1964).

The paved road, built between 1903 and 1924, reaches the square in front of the sanctuary and continues upwards. AMAT line 812 goes up to the Sanctuary forecourt: route, stops and times should be checked with AMAT (+39 091 350 111), which on its site refers to the Moovit planner.

On foot, the Scala Vecchia is a pedestrian-only route commissioned by the Palermo Senate: it climbs the south slope of the mountain with bold ramps, arches and piers. A first pedestrian access was built between 1638 and 1659; the present staircase was inaugurated in 1725. Another path starts from the Favorita Park, climbs the western slope (the Rufuliata), passes the Gorgo di Santa Rosalia and reaches the sanctuary.

The Monte Pellegrino Nature Reserve was established by D.A. no. 610 of 6 October 1995 and is managed by the Rangers d'Italia Association, Sicily Section. Rules: long trousers, a cap and a rain or wind jacket, closed comfortable shoes (no flip-flops or heels); follow the marked paths and signs; do not enter natural caves unless signposted; camping, bivouacking, fires and littering are forbidden. Inside the reserve there are no medical posts, water points, refreshments or toilets. The route is not recommended for people with mobility or balance difficulties, heart or breathing problems, asthma or allergies. Info: 091 6716066 / 392 6235399.

Sanctuary hours do not match: an official calendar from 2018 and the Festino page give different times, so check before you go up. On the name of the viewpoint and the starting point of the Scala Vecchia we only have unofficial sources. De Lisi's statue is placed "at the summit" by one source and at about 458 m by another: we do not give its altitude. We did not find the sanctuary's accessibility, nor the official route and stops of line 812.

It is Palermo's great seafront promenade: a pedestrian green area, with lawns and a cycle path, running from the Cala to Villa Giulia. The seafront was laid out in 1582 at the wish of the viceroy Marcantonio Colonna and became the favourite promenade of the Palermitan aristocracy and bourgeoisie. Today its official name is Foro Italico Umberto I.

Cleared of illegal buildings around 2000, the Foro was redeveloped in the early 2000s with lawns, pedestrian paths and lighting.

• The Palchetto della Musica (bandstand), in neoclassical style, dates from 1844. It stands in front of the gardens facing the sea, hosts open-air concerts and has been restored.
• Palazzo Forcella De Seta, an eclectic late-19th-century building, with its old stables restored and used for conferences and events.
• In Piazza Kalsa, opposite the Foro, the Porta dei Greci has its seaward side decorated (rustication, columns, an architrave with festoons of flowers and fruit), while the inner side is almost bare.
• Along the lawn there are bollards separating it from the cycle path, sofa-benches arranged like "rooms" with a sea view, and totems along the central path.

Address: Foro Italico Umberto I, 90133 Palermo. On foot from the Foro you can reach the Porta dei Greci and the Kalsa, Villa Giulia, Palazzo Butera, Palazzo Forcella De Seta, Porta Felice, the Cala and, beyond the Cala, the Molo Trapezoidale. Nearby are also the Mura delle Cattive.

Sources conflict on when the seafront took the name Foro Italico (1848, 1860 or the 20th century), so we do not state it; we also do not know why it is dedicated to Umberto I. We did not find direct AMAT lines, rules, accessibility, recommended duration or hours: there is no official confirmation that it is "always open". For the history of the Cala and the dates of the Porta dei Greci we have only unofficial sources.

The Molo Trapezoidale (Palermo Marina Yachting) is one of Palermo's new places: it was inaugurated on 13 October 2023 in the presence of the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella. The design is by the technical office of the Port Authority (eng. Enrico Petralia) with Provenzano Architetti Associati. The foundation stone was laid on 30 October 2020; the final cost reported by the press is about €30 million.

In 1923 the demolition of the Castello a Mare began to make room for port activities. The archaeological investigations for the project, in the area south of Via Patti, begun on 28 October 2019, brought the walls of the Castello a Mare back to light.

• Along the perimeter of the Castello a Mare there is an archaeological park: the walls rest on a layer of gravel and a wooden pedestrian path lets you walk among the remains.
• An urban pond of over 8,000 m², about 1 m deep, runs along the castle walls.
• A panoramic terrace with a view of Monte Pellegrino, also reached by a public lift; an open-air amphitheatre of 200 seats on the roof; a square with three large circular flowerbeds; over 12,000 m² of new greenery.
• Nine buildings house shops, restaurants and services; the main building contains a conference hall and offices.

The area is designed for pedestrians and cyclists; the entrance is from Via Patti (limited traffic) and vehicles may enter only if authorised. On foot you can reach the Cala, Piazza XIII Vittime, Via Patti, the Magazzini Generali, the archaeological park of the Castello a Mare, the historic centre and, beyond the Cala, the Foro Italico. According to the local press, since August 2026 there has been an AMAT stop at the Palermo Marina Yachting car park, served by lines 103, 104 and 107: check on the AMAT site.

On the cost and duration of the works sources do not agree: €25.5 million and 18 months were planned, but at the end about €30 million and almost three years between the foundation stone and the inauguration are reported. The 2023 night-closing hours come only from the press and may have changed. We did not find accessibility, rules for visitors and recommended duration. News of a museum in the former Sailem and of rowing boats on the pond are project forecasts: we have not verified that they were carried out.