DISTANCE: 3km (2 miles)
TIME: A full day
START: Quattro Canti
END: Cattedrale
POINTS TO NOTE: Binoculars are useful for the mosaics in the Cappella Palatina. The light in the chapel is constantly changing. Best times to go are late afternoon (as per the itinerary) or mid-morning. Watch your valuables in the market.
Chaotic and gritty, Sicily’s capital is a patchwork of periods and styles. In the Middle Ages, when Arab, Norman and Hohenstaufen rulers held sway, it was one of the most prosperous and enlightened cities in the Mediterranean – a melting-pot for Latin, Byzantine and Islamic cultures. Today the historic centre fuses ancient splendour with modern poverty and chaos. With its endless roar of traffic the city does not always endear itself to the first-time visitor, but it is worth persevering to discover some of the finest cultural treasures in Sicily.
After decades of neglect, Palermo is on the up; churches, museums and palaces have recently undergone or are undergoing restoration, cultural centres and galleries have opened, and the long–neglected seafront has been rebuilt with a proper promenade and gardens.
Get your bearings at Quattro Canti 1 [map], the heart of the city where the ‘four corners’ of the old centre are formed by two great arteries, Via Maqueda and Corso Vittorio Emanuele. The noble crossroads, decorated with symbolic Baroque statuary and fountains, is hard to admire with the roar of the traffic, so head for the more peaceful Piazza Pretoria just off Via Maqueda.
Piazza Pretoria statue
Neil Buchan-Grant/Apa Publications
Piazza Pretoria
The Baroque Piazza Pretoria 2 [map] was once disparagingly nicknamed Piazza della Vergogna (Square of Shame), after the abundant saucy nudes who frolic in the fountain’s spray. This magnificently restored Mannerist pool, designed in the mid-1500s, has over 30 naked or near-naked tritons, nymphs and river gods of varying size and quality.
The piazza is overshadowed on one side by the huge domed church of Santa Caterina, and on the south side by the Palazzo delle Aquile, the town hall named after the stone eagles which decorate its facade.
La Martorana and San Cataldo
Further along Via Maqueda, Piazza Bellini 3 [map] is graced with the three little red domes of the chapel of San Cataldo and the 12th-century campanile of La Martorana 4 [map] (daily 9am–noon; Wed & Fri 3–6pm). Founded in 1143 by George of Antioch, King Roger’s Syrian emir, the church is a remarkable mix of Baroque and Arab-Norman. Although brought up in the Orthodox faith, the emir planned La Martorana as a mosque, yet adorned it with Greek Byzantine mosaics: one depicts the founder, while another shows Christ’s Coronation of Roger II. Today, La Martorana is the co-Cathedral of the Catholic Church of Byzantine rite in Sicily, serving an Albanian ethnic minority. The Church of San Cataldo 5 [map] (Mon–Sat 12.30am–2pm, 5–8pm; charge), a simple cube topped by red domes and flanked by palms, is one of the last sacred buildings built in the Arab-Norman style.
Pause for coffee or a cooling drink at Pizzeria Bellini, see 1, on the piazza with a rare view (and top-notch pizzas). Marlon Brando ate here while he was on location for The Godfather.
Chiesa del Gesù splendour
Neil Buchan-Grant/Apa Publications
The Albergheria Quarter
Extending south and west of Piazza Bellini are the streets and alleys of the old Albergheria quarter, one of the city’s poorest districts but once the home of Norman court officials and rich merchants from Pisa and Amalfi. Although many dilapidated houses are home to illegal immigrants, a sense of community prevails over scenes of urban decay. Go south along Via Maqueda from Piazza Bellini, and take Via Ponticello, the first turning on your right. On Piazza Casa Professa the Chiesa del Gesù 6 [map] (daily 9.30am–1.30pm) was founded in the late 16th century as the first Jesuit church in Sicily, its interior a swirl of Baroque excess.
Lively Ballarò market
Neil Buchan-Grant/Apa Publications
Follow signs for the Mercato di Ballarò 7 [map], Palermo’s liveliest daily market. Although less famous than the Vucciria market, Ballaró maintains its ancient character and has a more authentic flavour. It is raucous, sprawling and exotic, with the spicy scents and sounds that transport you back to Moorish times. There are mountains of lemons and oranges, slabs of tuna and swordfish, hanging lamb’s heads, pigs’ trotters, tripe and intestines, and stallholders screaming everywhere. Side streets are packed with an array of clothing, crafts, bootleg watches, designer bags and DVDs.
After exploring the market, take Via Porta di Castro running west from Piazza Ballarò. Nearing the end of the street, turn left along Via Generale Cadorna and first right into Vicolo San Mercurio. Stop for a drink or meal at the peaceful Villa San Giovanni degli Eremiti, see 2.
Tranquil cloisters of San Giovanni
Neil Buchan-Grant/Apa Publications
San Giovanni degli Eremiti
At the end of the street cross the busy Via dei Benedettini for San Giovanni degli Eremiti 8 [map] (St John of the Hermits; Mon–Sat 9am–7pm, Sun & Mon 9am–1.30pm; charge), distinctive for its five red cupolas. This ruined Benedictine abbey lies amid gardens of orange and mandarin trees, hibiscus, jasmine and acanthus. Built in 1132, it incorporates a Norman-Arab church, with a simple unadorned interior, the hall of an earlier mosque and delightful Norman cloisters planted with palms and kumquat trees.
Palazzo dei Normanni
Just north of San Giovanni degli Eremiti lies the Palazzo Reale, the eclectic royal palace, or the Palazzo dei Normanni 9 [map], as it is generally known. Centre of power since Byzantine times, it is now seat of the Sicilian Parliament. The Christians razed the Roman fort, the Arabs imposed a Moorish castle, remodelled by the Normans and later embellished by the Spanish. Under both the Arabs and Normans, the palace was one of the most splendid courts in Europe.
Little of the Arab-Norman palace remains, but one exquisite remnant is the Cappella Palatina ) [map] (Palatine Chapel; Mon–Sat 8.15am–5.40pm, Sun 8.15am–1pm but no visit from 9.45am–11am when religious celebrations take place; charge), the royal chapel built for Roger II between 1130 and 1140 and one of the great highlights of a visit to Sicily.
The interior, akin to a jewel–encrusted casket, displays glittering mosaics on every surface. The oldest are those in the cupola and apse, designed to recall the life of Roger II as well as depict biblical scenes. Christ Pantocrator (Christ the All-Powerful), encircled by angels and saints, glimmers in the cupola. The chapel represents the fusion of Byzantine, Arab, Norman and Sicilian civilisations and harmoniously combines the three different styles. Greek, Latin and Kurif (early Arabic) script adorns the walls and capitals, a reminder of the languages of the Norman court. Arab craftsmen created the exquisitely carved and painted coffered ceiling, a panoply of Middle Eastern splendour. The Normans commissioned them to portray paradise; the Arabs gleefully conjured up naked maidens, which the rather prudish Normans clothed and crowned with haloes. Still, the roof remains a paradise of the senses: Persian octagonal stars meet Islamic stalactites. Hunters and revellers languish amidst palm trees entwined with dancers and female musicians; beyond, additional female musicians float into an Arabian Nights fantasy.
Royal Apartments
A marble staircase leads from the chapel to the Royal Apartments, once home to Spanish viceroys. As the seat of the Sicilian Regional Parliament, the visiting hours are limited (Fri–Mon only 8.15am–5.40pm, Sun 8.15am–1pm; www.fondazionefedericosecondo.it; guided tours 20 mins; charge). Most of the apartments were decorated in the 19th century and are rather dull, but it is worth a visit if only for the splendid Sala di Re Ruggero (King Roger’s Salon), adorned with exotic 12th-century mosaics depicting lions, deer and peacocks set among palms and citrus trees.
From the ground floor of the palace you can descend underground to see the remains of the ancient Phoenician-Roman walls of Palermo, and the frescoed Sala Duca di Montalto, the setting for art exhibitions.
Palermo Cathedral
Neil Buchan-Grant/Apa Publications
Cattedrale
Turn left out of the Palazzo dei Normanni and go down Via del Bastione following the bastions for Piazza della Vittoria ! [map], with its lawns and lofty palms. The Corso Vittorio Emanuele on the far side will bring you to the Cattedrale @ [map] (Mon–Sat 9am–5.30pm, Sun 7am–1pm, 4–7pm; www.cattedrale.palermo.it; cathedral free, charges for Treasury, Crypt and Royal Tombs).
Built in 1185 but not completed until 1801 when the dome was added, the building is a Sicilian hybrid: the 12th-century towers are Norman, the facade and south porch are Gothic, and the interior, after the golden, mostly medieval facade, is coldly neoclassical. The main entrance is a beautiful Gothic porch that includes a column with an inscription from the Koran. The church is a pantheon of the Normans, with six royal tombs on the left of the main entrance. The finest tomb was destined for Roger II, but Frederick II expropriated it. Roger now rots in a humbler tomb while his daughter, Queen Constance, lies in the sarcophagus on the far right. In the 1700s, the Cathedral was used as a solar ‘observatory’, and also features a bronze line on the floor known as meridiana, whose ends mark the positions as at the summer and winter solstices. The cathedral borders Il Capo, one of the city’s poorest districts and the setting for the Capo market.
For dinner in the vicinity, try the Sicilian specialities at Trattoria Primavera, see 3, along the Corso on Piazza Bologni.
Food and Drink
1 Pizzeria Bellini
Piazza Bellini 6; tel: 091 616 5691; daily noon–midnight; €–€€
Some of the best pizzas in town are served in the arcades of a now defunct theatre on Piazza Bellini. Fish dishes and pasta, for example with sardines and aubergines, are also on offer and it is open all day for drinks. For a table outside or upstairs, overlooking two Moorish churches, book ahead.
2 Villa San Giovanni degli Eremiti
Vicolo S. Mercurio 26; tel: 091 253 1643; daily 9am–midnight; www.villasangiovannideglieremiti.it; €–€€
Close to the eponymous church, the terrace/garden of this family-run restaurant/pizzeria/bar is an oasis away from the fracas. Try their caponata with home-made bread, sardines Sicilian-style, grilled fish or meat and ricotta-filled cannoli, with a glass of Zibibbo wine.
3 Trattoria Primavera
Piazza Bologni 4; tel: 091 329 408; L and D Tue–Sat, L Sun; €€
This lively, good-value trattoria serves authentic Sicilian fare. Choose from the extensive and colourful spread of antipasti, pasta con le sarde (fresh sardines), pasta con i broccoli and grilled calamari.