Hello dear travel lovers. I flew to Palermo from Naples. The ticket cost only 20 euros and the journey lasted 1 hour. You can get from the airport to the center by train or bus. If you buy a round trip bus ticket, the total cost is only 10 euros. The nice thing is this. You do not have to go all the way to the last stop, you can get off at the stop closest to your hotel. And believe me, this is really a huge convenience.
Maybe you had an idea about Palermo before coming, just like I did. I thought this place was quite a small city. Yes, it is the capital of Sicily, but I thought its population was probably around 200-300 thousand. Yet in reality this is Italy’s fifth largest city by population after Rome, Milan, Naples and Turin. The central population alone is 700.000 people. When you include its municipal boundaries and the surounding settlements, the population reaches 1.100.000. So it is really very big. First you feel this immediately as you see the bus driving through the city for about 30 minutes while approaching the city from the airport. You say to yourself, yes this is seriously a big city. Second when you mark the places to visit on the map while preparing your itinerary, you realize that one single day is definitely not enough here. I think even a week might fall short for Palermo. Indeed during its history of nearly 3 thousand years, a significant amount of historical heritage has accumulated in the city.
One of the most interesting periods for me is the era when the Normans ruled. After the city’s conquest in the late eleventh century, Palermo becomes the capital of the Kingdom of Sicily and over time the imperial palace moves here from Germany. The most important structure of that period is the Norman Palace, that is Palazzo Reale. It is possible to see traces of almost every historical era of Palermo in this huge complex. Except for the modern period, because there is no graffiti on the wall yet. The first structures were built back in the Phoenician period. Then Ancient Roman fortificatios were constructed. When the Arabs captured Palermo in the ninth century, they established their own fortress here, the Emir’s Palace. A few centuries later the Normans transformed this Arab fortress into a royal palace. Subsequent changes took place during the Spanish rule.
Of course, during this time, the complex was rebuilt many times. But even today you can see traces of Arab, Byzantine and Romanesque architecture. Strong ramparts and massive towers remind one of the Norman influence. Today the Sicilian parlament is located here and it also serves as a museum.
Opposite the main facade, there is a large pedestrian square. A wonderful green space. What a great feeling it is to walk around here in a tshirt, use sunscreen and look at palm trees and giant cacti like this. One feels almost as if in Africa. Actually if you look at the map, we are about 200-250 km away from Tunisia. So we are really close to Africa. And Palermo and Sicily in general, is one of the places receiving the most immigration from North African countries.
But let me return to what I feel from a tourist’s perspective. It reminded me of what I felt in southern Spain. Of course, if you want to combine your trip with a seaside vacation, it would probably be better to come in mid October or late September.
As I walk through Palermo, the city of Seville in Spain constantly comes to mind. There are an incredible number of parallels. Carriages roam the city in the exact same way. Architecturally there are many common points, some places are identical. In terms of cultural heritage, both were formed by the blending of different civilizations and this has created a very unique urban fabric. You can feel this even today. The climate in Seville is exactly like this as well.
And most importantly Seville is famous for the largest gothic cathedral in the world. It is an incredible structure both in size and interior space. In terms of size the cathedral here might remain smaler than the one in Seville. But in terms of beauty at least from the outside, it definitely competes. Just like in Seville you can go up to the roof here too. While the cathedral in Spain is almost the size of a neighborhood, the one here is a standalone building and you can walk 360 degrees around it.
Just like the Norman Palace, the cathedral’s history is quite complex as well. The first Christian place of worship on this site was built in the fourth century. In 831 during Arab rule, it was converted into a mosque and then the current cathedral was built during the Norman period. Naturally the appearance of the temple changed many times in subsequent centuries. However, its architectural foundation is still formed by the Arab-Norman style. On one side Norman monumentality, on the other Arab ornamentation.
The biggest changes to the cathedral took place right at the beginning of the nineteenth century. At that time the temple gained neoclassical features. A main dome and many small domes were added over the chapels. Most importantly the interior assumed a cold and distant look. I think this is really surprising. Inside a temple whose exterior is so ancient, I was expecting a much different atmosphere. But such was the fashion and spirit of the period when the restoration was done.
To see the view that has not changed for thousands of years, we need to go up to the roof of the cathedral. This is a great spot to understand what kind of geography Palermo is located in. I was not expecting something like this, because based on what I felt, the climb took two or three minutes at most. I did not walk very far, but all of Palermo and its surroundings were visible like the palm of our hand.
And it is possible to examine the main dome in all its detail from here. As you can see here, they have created a small pedestrian path, a corridor. It turned out to be a great solution so that everyone can pass through from the very top.
When I looked to the left, I saw Mount Pellegrino. This is the best viewpoint that nature has created in Palermo. Up there you can go to the top by bus, on foot or by car. The best view of the city is definitely there. But if we talk about the observation decks in the center of Palermo, this place is indisputably by far the best. If you are capable of climbing the steps, definitely come here, you will not regret it. In 2-3 minutes, you find yourself in the middle of such beauty.
If you ask what really fits the setting of this city, it is its churches. There are so many of them and they are all magnificent. If you pick three or four places of worship on the map and start walking, you will enter at least 10 of them along the way. In scale and importance they might not compare to those in Rome, but they are still very beautiful.
What surprised me the most was that almost all of the churches were in flawles condition. Both their facades and interiors look as if they were just brought from another city. One gets the impression that when the authorities were renovating the city, they thought let us handle the churches first, the rest is in God’s hands.
Instead of divine powers, the city is managed at least partially by lower powers. That is the mafia. Yes that famous Sicilian mafia. Both in Naples and in Sicily and in southern Italy in general, the influence of mafia structures is one of the biggest problems. Issues like the trash trade, illegal substance trade, extortion, close cooperation with the police and even directing regional politics are the focus of endless scandals. Even though we as tourists are not directly affected by this situation, it is impossible not to see and feel the presence of trash in every street. Palermo is a horribly dirty city. The absurd part is this. There are streets of incredible beauty and right in the middle or on the sides, mountains of trash have accumulated.
The condition of the buildings is the same. There is a surprising amount of magnificent palaces in Palermo that amazed me. However, broken windows, graffiti, peeling plaster. You would think the last restoration here was done by the Normans. A building here is one of the most magnificent structures from the fifteenth century in Palermo. On it, there is even a plaque indicating that Garibaldi stayed here during the Expedition of the Thousand while Italy was unifying in the nineteenth century . And look at how ruined the building is. I had never seen such a grand and detailed historical building in this state before. I do not know how to describe it. At least there is no graffiti on it and the details that allow us to understand its historical identity have been preserved.
There is an art gallery here and it hosts a quite interesting exhibition. I took a peek inside. The inside is quite tidy and restored. But looking from the outside, it really breaks one’s heart.
I found a successful example of street art. Everything on the building I came across is a drawing. Windows, doors, people looking out of windows. They are all drawings, because the building itself is not in very good condition. They even drew the fountain that used to be here onto wooden panels. The basin of the fountain remains, but its body has been lost over the years. The interesting thing is that an intact duplicate of this fountain stands at the back. It is identical to the picture drawn on the wooden panel.
Walking down the street, when you see the crumbling 1-2 story facades, it is hard to believe that a palace like this is hidden behind it. Palazzo Cattolica from the early fifteenth century is located here. It is very hard to see the building completely from the outside due to the narrow streets, just like Palazzo Propaganda Fide signed by Borromini in Rome. But we can enter its courtyard. After seeing the neglected buildings outside, you cannot believe that such a place is hidden inside. And this is a very typical story for Palermo.
The metal tie rods on the outside of the buildings caught my attention. These iron beams are not for decoration.They were placed to hold the building’s structure together, prevent the stones from separating and connect the floors to each other. Sometimes they manage to place them in an aesthetic and symmetrical way, just like here.
Since I found it difficult to fit my trip to Palermo into one post, I split the post into two. In my next post I will talk about the other places I visited.
