Palermo Guide
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When folding the sheet, we would suggest placing pressure with your fingers on the side to be folded, so that it might open up, but if you want to permanently remedy this problem, 1 2 it is enough to apply a very small amount of glue. THE PALERMO CITY GUIDE © Netplan - Internet solutions for tourism © Netplan - Internet solutions for tourism © 2005 Netplan srl. All rights reserved. © Netplan - Internet solutions for tourism All material on this document is © Netplan. THE PALERMO CITY GUIDE 1 Summary THINGS TO KNOW 3 History and culture THINGS TO SEE 4 Churches and Museums 6 Historical buildings and monuments 8 Places and charm THINGS TO TRY 10 Food and drink 11 Shopping 12 Hotels and lodgings THINGS TO EXPERIENCE 13 Events 14 La Dolce Vita ITINERARIES 15 A special day 16 Trip outside the city 32 © Netplan - Internet solutions for tourism THE PALERMO CITY GUIDE / THINGS TO KNOW 3 4 THE PALERMO CITY GUIDE / THINGS TO SEE History and culture Churches and Museums population spread out throughout the island. centuries, which have resulted in its current Under Norman rule, Palermo was allowed Neo-Classical style. The fourteenth-century a fair amount of autonomy, while in the door and the Gothic-Catalan style portico are city, palaces and monuments that were the worthy of note. The treasures that are kept symbols of this crossroads of culture, such inside, including some precious objects and as the Cappella Palatina (Palatine Chapel) embroidery found in the tombs of the Kings and the Cathedral - Duomo in Monreale and emperors must be seen. were built. Palermo passed into the hands of the Swabians and Frederick II after the Santa Maria degli Angeli Normans: in this period, art and literature Dating back to the fifteenth century, this is were developed even further, culminating in one of the oldest churches in the city. The the setting up of the Sicilian School of Poets. two wonderful Gothic entrances and the Under the French king, Charles of Anjou, wooden sculptures, paintings and stuccoes Palermo lost a great deal of its autonomy, but inside the church must be admired. the people rebelled, and started up the war of the Sicilian Vespers (1282) that continued Church of San Domenico for twenty years and which was intended to The church was built in Baroque style around throw out the French from the island. 1640, but the façade was completed in 1726. The imposing interior of the Church of Spanish dominion (1400 - 1700) saw the Domenico is designed around the nave and Palermo: Palazzo dei Normanni beginning of a peaceful period for this much Palermo: Church of Santa M aria dell’Ammiraglia two-aisle style, and contains important works contested city that had been in the hands of of art. The wonderful cloisters inside the Palermo’s origins date back to the period various countries over the centuries. Palermo A selection of the most representative church play host to the Risorgimento-period between the 8th and the 6th century B.C., was once again the capital and the town’s religious buildings for Sicilian culture Museum. when the Phoenicians colonized the area that buildings and monuments were renewed. was previously inhabited by Sicans, Cretans Various religious orders, which were Cappella Palatina Santa Maria dell’Ammiraglio and the Elimi. increasingly powerful, set up a large number The famous French writer Guy de Maupassant This church is named thus as it was built on After being contested for a long period of churches and convents. This was a period defined it as “the most beautiful in the the wishes of the Admiral Giorgio d’Antiochia between Rome and Carthage during the Punic of pomp and opulence for the clergy and the world, the most surprising religious jewel in 1142, who then gave it to the convent of wars, the city of Paleopolis was placed under aristocracy, but was also one of poverty and ever dreamt of by man”. It is easy to share Eloisa Martorana. It is a Norman-style building, Roman rule (254 B.C.). pestilence for the people, whose rebellions his opinion. The Cappella Palatina (Palatine even though it is similar to the Byzantine After several attacks by various barbaric were often put down without the sparing of Chapel) contains a harmonious blend of churches, due to its square structure and the populations, the city then became a part of blood. opposing cultures, Byzantine, Norman, splendid mosaics kept inside, together with the Byzantine Empire, which governed it for After a brief interval under the Sabaudo Arabic, and Sicilian, creating a truly amazing frescoes and Baroque marble pieces. about three centuries, until 831. family Dynasty (1713 - 1718) and then under architectural and artistic result. Located in The Arabs took over from the Byzantines and the Austrians (1718 - 1735), Palermo and Sicily the Palazzo dei Normanni, the Cappella All the most interesting museums to visit under their rule, Palermo enjoyed a period were once again returned to the Spanish, Palatina is home to some of the most to help us learn the traditions linked to this of splendor and prosperity. Art and economics and became the Autonomous State of the beautiful mosaics in the world that depict land. were developed immensely, the first thanks Kingdom of Naples. When the Bourbon family famous scenes from the bible. The wooden to the influence of Arab culture and the decreed that the autonomy granted should be ceiling styled into Arab-style stalactites and International Marionettes Museum latter through intense trading with the main repealed, the whole of Sicily rose up (1820 alveoli dating back to 1143 and the marble This extraordinary museum was founded in Italian ports. Palermo increased its prestige and 1848) and finally in 1860, whenGaribaldi floor are just as wonderful. 1975 by the Association for the Preservation by building mosques, luxurious palaces and and the thousand landed at Marsala, Palermo of Folk Traditions, and is an integral part wonderful gardens. The Arabs ruled until won its freedom, and then annexed itself to Cathedral of Sicilian culture. The museum contains 1072 when the Normans succeeded in gaining the Kingdom of Italy in 1870. Built in 1184 by the Norman king William II in the most complete, important collection possession of the city after a long siege, the place of a Muslim mosque, the cathedral of “pupi” or puppets in the world, together and thus began a new era during which the has undergone several renovations over the with the stage equipment needed for the © Netplan - Internet solutions for tourism © Netplan - Internet solutions for tourism THE PALERMO CITY GUIDE / THINGS TO SEE 5 6 THE PALERMO CITY GUIDE / THINGS TO SEE Historical buildings and monuments traditional shows. The collection includes about 3500 examples of puppets, marionettes and hand puppets from all over the world, all made by hand according to the antique Florentine sculptor Francesco Camilliani, and craftsmen’s traditional techniques. originally decorated the garden of a villa in Tuscany. It was then purchased by the city Regional Archaeological Museum of Palermo, dismantled and rebuilt in Piazza This Museum is in the old city center of Pretoria. The fencing around the fountain, Palermo, in the ex-convent of the Philippine designed by Giovan Battista Basile, was built Monks and is home to a large number of in 1858. artifacts from the whole of Sicily, including the islands, and also to archaeological Castello della Zisa finds from the Etruscan, Phoenician and In Europe, this is one of the best buildings Greek eras. These important collections are built in Arabic style. Its name comes from testimony of Sicilian art, from prehistoric the Arabic word “al-aziz” that means “the splendid one”. This indeed splendid, times to the late Roman period. charming castle was built by Arabic architects Museum of Islam on the wishes of the Norman king William II This Museum, which is housed in the d’Altavilla and was completed in 1175. It was wonderful Castello della Zisa, holds the later transformed into a fortress and then testimony of Arabic culture in Sicily. into a residence for aristocratic families. It is now the home to the Museum of Islam. The Sicilian Regional Gallery La Cuba This Gallery that is inside Palazzo Abatellis, Palermo: La Cuba houses some paintings completed in Sicily There is not much information available between the 11th and the 17th centuries, The most interesting historical buildings and about this mysterious Norman building, built Arabic inlaid-wood objects, Moorish pottery monuments in Palermo by William II d’Altavilla in 1180. Its original purpose is unclear, although we know that it and some marble sculptures. Palazzo dei Normanni was used as a lazaretto – a leper’s hospital In the 9th century, the Arab emirs built this - and later as a barracks for the Spanish majestic building.