Story of Palermo

The capital of Sicily is surrounded on three sides by the mountains of the Conca d’Oro (The Golden Valley) – the rising sun lights up the gold of the lemons, oranges and almonds. The surrounding mountains provide pre-historic evidence of twelve thousand years of settlement by man. The city itself has preserved  testimony of the presence of Phoenician, Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Arab, Norman, Swabian and Spanish settlers.

The historical and artistic heart of the city is to be found in the area of the crossroads – Quattro Canti (Four Corners) – of the two  long thoroughfares, Corso Vittorio Emanuele (once Via Marmorea and then Via Toledo) and Via maqueda.

The first nucleus of population – la paleopoli (The Paleopolis) – was established on the strip of land, living between the Kemonia river to the north and the Papireto river to the south, where, in the 8^th century BC, the Phoenicians landed as the first inhabitants. They called the land Ziz (flower), through the Greek name of Panormus leads us to think that the Greeks were the founders of the city itself. Little is left of the ancient Punic city, its remains having been buried under the modern city and only occasionally, when works are taking place, does some small detail come to light.

Before occupation  by the Greeks, the city, together with nearby Mothya and Solunto, was a Phoenician commercial base of prime importance and it was to this city that the Phoenicians whitdrew when the Greeks arrived in the west of  Sicily in the 8^th century BC.

So it was the Greeks who followed the Phoenician, from the 8^th to the 3^rd century BC; then came the Romans, from the 2^nd century BC to the 5^th century AD; then, from the 6^th to the 9^th century AD, it was the turn of the Byzantines while the Arabs arrived in the 9^th century and stayed until the 11^th century when they were turned out by by the Normans, following whom came the Swabians (12^th-13^th Century), the Angevins (14^th century), the Aragonese (1302), the Spanish (1503), the House of Savoy (1713), the Austrians (1720) and the Bourbons (1734).

Of interest are the ruins or ancient buildings re-discovered in Piazza Vittoria and the Catacombs in the area  in the area of Porta d’ Ossuna, which spring from the early Christian era (4^th –5^th century  AD). Places to visit: the Santuario di Santa Rosalia (Sanctuary or St. Rosalia), the Oratorio di Santa Cita ( Oratory of  St. Cita) the Cathedral,  the Basilica of S. Francesco, the Chiesa del Gesù  (Church of Jesus in Casa Professa) The Palazzo dei Normanni (Norman Palace) whit the Cappella Palatina (Palatine Chapel), the Chiesa di S. Giovanni degli Eremiti (Church of Jesus St. John of the Hermits), the “Martorana”, Palazzo Steri, Palazzo Abatellis (seat of the Regional Gallery), whose exhibits include three masterpieces of art: the bust of Eleonora d’Aragona by Francesco Laurana, the Annunciata (Annunciation) by Antonello da Messina and the Trionfo della morte (Triumph over death) by an unknown artist. Other places to visit are Castello della Zisa, Palazzo Mirto (Museum), the Chiesa di S. Giuseppe dei teatini , the Catacombs of the Convento dei Cappuccini (The Capuchin Convent), the Teatro Massimo, Villa Giulia, Parco d’Orleans, the Markets of Vucciria, Capo And Ballarò, the Mercato delle Pulci (bric à brac market), the Galleria d’Arte Moderna (Gallery of Modern Art), the Museo Archeologico Regionale (Regional Archaeological Museum), the Museo delle Marionette (Puppet Museum), the Museo Etnografico Pitrè (ethnographical Museum), the Orto Botanico (Botanical Gardens), the graffiti of the Grotte dell’Addaura (Addaura Grottes).

Nearby: Mondello, Sferracavallo, the Convent of Baida, San Martino delle Scale.