WHAT TO SEE IN PALERMO: 5 WONDERS OF THE ITALIAN CAPITAL OF CULTURE 2018
Palermo is a city characterized by the presence of the sea and is surrounded by beauty.
Making a complete list of what to see in Palermo is not easy because this city was inhabited by the Phoenicians, the Greeks, the Romans, the Arabs, the Normans, the Spanish, and all of them have left a trace of their presence.
It is not coincidence that Palermo has been named Italian Capital of Culture 2018, because here everything is culture: from landscape to history, from food to language. Therefore, here are 5 things to see in Palermo, and I’ll be waiting for your suggestions, what you saw in the Sicilian city and stole your heart.
READ ALSO: Things to see in Pistoia ,Italy’s Capital of Culture for 2017.
1 -THE PALACE OF THE NORMANS (OR ROYAL PALACE OF PALERMO)
The Palace of the Normans was the home of the rulers of the Kingdom of Sicily and now the home of government of the city.
It stands above the first Punic settlements dating back to between the 8th century and the 5th century BC, whose remains can still be found in the basement.
Palazzo Normanni a Palermo
2 – THE TEATRO MASSIMO
The Teatro Massimo is the largest opera house in Italy and the third in Europe after the Paris Opera and the Vienna State Opera.
Inaugurated at the end of the 19th century, it is built in neoclassical style and boasts a perfect acoustics.
Teatro Massimo, Palermo.
3 – THE PALERMO CATHEDRAL
The history of the Palermo Cathedral began in the Punic period, because the church stands on an ancient settlement, but probably this has always been a place of worship, and during the Arab domination was a mosque.
Re-conquered and rebuilt by the Normans and then by the Spanish, today the Palermo Cathedral is a one-of-a-kind place.
La Cattedrale di Palermo
4 – THE ZISA
The name derives from the Arab term Al-Aziza meaning “splendid” and it is really like that, because this palace in Arab-Norman style, built in 1165 as a summer residence for the Norman kings, originally surrounded by a large hunting resort, is a castle located in the historic centre of Palermo.
It’s a must see because of its beautiful architecture and the mysterious atmosphere pervading it.
La Zisa
5 – THE CHURCH OF SAINT CATHERINE
The church stands next to the 14th-century monastery of Dominican nuns, and was built between 1566 and 1596, but it’s its interior that overwhelms the senses of the visitors.
The only nave with three chapels in Rococo style on each side has a rich marble decoration and 18th-century frescoes.
The church is the most amazing masterpiece of Sicilian Baroque.
Chiesa di Santa Caterina, Palermo.
READ ALSO: Things to see in Rome.