Palermo, Italy: Unraveling the Rich Tapestry of Sicily’s Capital
Palermo
Every year around my birthday I try to take a trip. The last few years I haven’t been able to, so when this year my birthday lined up with my partners break we immediately decided to look for flights!! We both wanted to go somewhere warm if possible but decided the best option was to look on Skyscanner and find the cheapest options. Lucky for us, Palermo in Sicily, Italy was the perfect fit!
Italy does not require mask except on public transport and the occasional inside location. We were required to wear mask only for the plane and bus rides. You also need the green pass to enter Italy. The only other documentation we had to complete was a locator form for our trip to Italy, but not on the way back. Would you believe the Budapest airport doesn’t require mask either!! It almost felt like old times.
Let’s take a look at what we will cover in this article. You can click the links to skip to that section at ay time:
QUICK GUIDE:
Language: Italian
Currency: Euro
Dress Code: Mix between upscale casual and casual
TRANSPORTATION:
We flew from Budapest, Hungary to the Palermo airport. There’s more than one airport so make sure you see which is the closest to your destination when visiting Sicily. It’s a two hour direct flight and we found tickets for only €26 round trip!! From airport you can take a bus that runs every half hour for €6. It takes around 50 minutes to get to the city center, which is the last stop on the bus route. We rented an Airbnb for €38 a night in the city center, only 5 minutes walking from the bus station.
ACCOMMODATION:
Start you search for the perfect accommodation option to suit your needs here:
SITES:
Teatro Massimo Vittorio Emanuele
The Opera house located on the Piazza Verdi in Palermo, Sicily, dedicated to King Victor Emanuel ll. It is the biggest in Italy, and one of the largest of Europe (at the time of its inauguration, it was – with its area of 7730 m² – the third largest opera house in Europe after the Palais Garnier in Paris. and the K. K. Hof-Opernhaus in Vienna, renowned for its perfect acoustics. An international competition for the creation of the opera house was announced by the Palermo Council in 1864 at the instigation of the mayor, Abronio Starrabba di Rudinì.
The opera house was designed, and overseen by the Italian architect Giovan Battista Filippo Basile, who was well known in Sicily for his previous Cathedral restoration design in the city of Acireale, as well as garden and villa designs in the city of Palermo and Caltahirone. Following G. B. F. Basile’s death in 1891, construction was then overseen by his son, Architect Ernesto Basile. Construction started on 12 January 1874, but was stopped for eight years from 1882 until 1890. Finally, on 16 May 1897, twenty-two years after the laying of the foundation stone, the opera house was inaugurated with a performance of Verdi’s Falstaff conducted by Leopoldo Mugnone. Guided tours cost €8.
Address: Piazza Verdi, 90138 Palermo PA, Italy
Teatro Politeama Garibaldi:
The Politeama Theatre is a theatre located in the central Piazza Ruggero Settimo and represents the second most important theatre of the city after the Teatro Massimo. It houses the Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana. The architectural project was assigned to Giuseppe Damiani Almeyda. The theatre would have to be built on the border of the monumental structure of Palermo, as an ideal point of reference of the city’s expansion. On 7 June 1874 the theatre was inaugurated with the opera I Capuleti e I Montecchi of Vincenzo Bellini. However, the building wasn’t complete yet. During the following years the name of the building was simply “Teatro Municipale Politeama”. In 1882 Guiseppe Garibaldi died and the theatre was named after him.
Address: Via Filippo Turati, 2, 90139 Palermo PA, Italy
Palazzo dei Normanni
Palazzo dei Normanni, or the Normanni palace is a grand 9th century palace with neo- classical facade, historic chapel and ornate royal apartments. It was the seat of the Kings of Sicily with the Hauteville dynasty and served afterwards as the main seat of power for the subsequent rulers of Sicily. Since 1946 it has been the seat of the Sicilian Regional Assembly. The building is the oldest royal residence in Europe; and was the private residence of the rulers of the Kingdom of Sicily and the imperial seat of Frederick ll and Conrad IV. Tours are available Tuesday – Thursday 8:30-16:30 for €16.50. Friday to Monday and during holidays the tours increase to €20 with the same hours of operation, except for Sunday when they are only available between 8:30-9:30 and 11:30-12:30.
Address: Piazza del Parlamento, 1, 90129 Palermo PA, Italy
Palermo cathedral :
The Cathedral of Palermo is one of the most important architectural monuments in Sicily. It was built in 1184 by the Normans as a re-converted Christian church on the site of a Muslim Mosque that was previously built over a Christian basilica. This Cathedral is a must see when visiting Palermo!
The reason for building this cathedral was to surpass in beauty the Cathedral of Monreale so you can imagine how architectural exaggeration was involved due to the competitiveness. What we see today is the result of a stratification of styles over the centuries from Gothic to Medieval, Arabic (an actual passage from the Koran is still engraved on one of the columns) to Neoclassical. The sites are:
Treasury of the Cathedral of Palermo if you want to see precious gold , silver and enamelled objects. Terraces if you want to see the Cathedral with its lovely green domes and Palermo from the top. Royal and Imperial Tombs of the Cathedral of Palermo if you want to see the tombs of important royals and emperors. (you will see them anyway while going to the terraces). Crypts if you want to see highly decorated marble sculptured sarcophagi. Admission is free for visiting only the church but cost €7.00 for the Tombs, Treasury, Crypts and Terraces all together otherwise you can pay each one separately if you don’t want to see them all. Hours of operation are Monday to Saturday from 9.00- 17.30; Sunday only the Royal Tombs from 9.00-13.00
Address: Via Vittorio Emanuele, 90134 Palermo PA, Italy
Villino Florio
Villino Florio is a striking 1900’s villa designed by Ernesto Basile. Tours are free and in Italian, so you might not get a guide who speaks your language unfortunately. We didn’t get lucky so we didn’t learn much about the house but it was still very interesting to see. Hours of operation are Tuesday – Saturday 9:00-13:00.
Address: Viale Regina Margherita, 38, 90138 Palermo PA, Italy
Ballaro market
Ballaro market is a traditional market selling fruit, vegetables, meat, spices, fish and street food. When we first arrived it didn’t seem like it was a large market, boy were we wrong. The markets goes for blocks and blocks winding in different directions down the small alley streets. It even turns into a flea market on the weekends where people continue for more blocks selling all kinds of antiques and assorted items. Monday- Saturday the main market is open from 7:00-19:00 and on Sunday it’s opens from 7:00-13:00.
Address: Via Dalmazio Birago, 2-14, 90134 Palermo PA, Italy
Fontana Pretoria
Fontana Pretoria is a historical landmark fountain from the 1500’s. It features an ornate, tiered design of marble nude statues and mythological figures. It is located in the heart of the historic centre. The fountain was created for the garden of don Luigi de Toledo in Florence. Previously the land of the garden had belonged to the nuns of San Domenico al Maglio and was obtained, after a lot of pressure, in 1551. Subsequently, in 1584, the Palazzo di San Clemente was built on this site.
The creation of this unusual garden (devoid of palaces) and of the fountain was commissioned to the Florentine sculptor Francesco Camilliani, student of Baccio Bandinelli. The work was started in 1554. The fountain included 48 statues and was surrounded by a long arbor formed by 90 columns of wood designed by Bartolomeo Ammannati. The fountain was built by Francesco Camilliani in the city of Florence in 1554, but was transferred in Palermo in 1574. It is open 24 hours a day and free to the public.
Address: Piazza Pretoria, 90133 Palermo PA, Italy
Piazza Quattro Canti
Piazza Quattro Canti, officially known as Piazza Vigliena, is a Baroque square in Palermo, Sicily. It was laid out on the orders of the Viceroys between 1608-1620 by Giulio Lasso and Mariano Smiriglio at the crossing of the two principal streets in Palermo, the Via Maqueda and the Corso Vittorio Emanuele. The piazza is octagonal, four sides being the streets; the remaining four sides are Baroque buildings, the near-identical facades of which contain fountains with statues of the four seasons, the four Spanish kings of Sicily, and of the patronesses of Palermo, (Christina, Ninfa, Olivia and Agata). The façades onto the interchange are curved, and rise to four floors; the fountains rise to the height of the second floor, the third and fourth floors contain the statues in niches. At the time the piazza was built, it was one of the first major examples of town planning in Europe.
Address: Via Vittorio Emanuele, 80146 Palermo PA, Italy
Colonna dell’lmmacolata:
La Colonna dell’Immacolata is a monument situated in front of the San Domenico church, in the neighborhood La Loggia. The column was founded in 1728 in the Baroque style. The monument is composed of a marble pedestal and a bronze statue.
Address: Piazza S. Domenico, 90133 Palermo PA, Italy
Extras: Walking through the town there is so much beauty !
What to Eat in Palermo:
Once again I will have another blog post to detail all the places we ate in Palermo, but I want to hit some of the highlights here!
Francesco Grillo:
When we looked at the street menu, we were hooked. Right there on the sign: Fried pizza. That’s right, you heard me…. FRIED. PIZZA. They also have great cocktails and wonderful music.
Cafeteria del Corso:
Fantastic breakfast place on the Main Street with friendly staff and wonderful coffee. Seriously, bless the Italians and their coffee.
KePalle:
Palermo is famous all around the world for Rice arancina and this is the top rated place for it!
NonnAngé Bakery:
Cutest, most Instagramable cafes we visited with swing seats and a great breakfast selection.
Cufu:
They have a huge tapas selection and two cocktails for €15 a person , usually it’s minimum of 4 people but they made a half portion for us.
Sud:
It’s the most upscale place we went on our trip. They have a great menu and very good wine. You are given the best bread drizzled with oil as a starter and it is AMAZING. Both the pasta and pizza were superb.
Bacio Nero:
What a breakfast selection. We ordered 3 types of tarts, a cannoli and a croissant. I also ordered an iced tiramisu cappuccino! Everything was delicious.
Top 7 places to Eat in Palermo, Sicily
Dont forget to check out my full food review article on the top 7 places to eat in Palermo for all the details !
Sicily has so much to offer and while many people immediately think of the coastline and beaches, Palermo in my opinion is an absolute must see city. You can travel to the town for a day or two when you need a break from the beach life, and experience the gorgeous architecture, history, food and culture of this lovely Italian city.
Happy Travels xx
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Trip: November 2021
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