ITALY: PALERMO
Palermo (Palermo in Italian, Paliermu or Paliemmu in Sicilian) is the
principal city and administrative seat of the autonomous region of
Sicily, Italy as well as the capital of the Province of Palermo.
Nowadays Palermo is a fast, brash and exciting city. The mix of
arabic and viking influences is one of the strangest and unexpected
surprises the city has to offer. Buildings dating from the 11th and 12th
century, the heyday of Medieval Sicily, offer this peculiar quality. The
most noteworthy and an absolute must is the Palazzo dei Normanni. Among
the most important tourist attractions of Palermo are the city's Norman
Cattedrale and the Saracen-Norman-Spanish Palazzo Reale (or Palazzo dei
Normanni), a former royal palace added to and altered over the
centuries, and now the seat of the local parliament. You can visit parts
of the latter building, including the Cappella Palatina, an exquisite
chapel containing rich mosaics. Other sights include La Martorana, a
splendid Norman church with a Baroque facade ,the imposing Teatro
Massimo and Vucciria market (which features heavily in Peter Robb's
Midnight in Sicily). Plays acted by marionettes are a local tradition,
and you can visit the Puppet Museum (Museo delle Marionette) to learn
more about the history of the art - and see a performance if you can.
In
the Vucciria quarter alleys are bustling with people selling spices,
pine nuts, etc, especially wonderful to see as night falls and the red
awnings are illuminated. Sampling street snacks is always fun in
Palermo's liveliest market, Ballarò, on Piazza Carmine.
The city was founded by Phoenician traders in the 8th century BC;
it was later a Carthaginian settlement. It was taken by the Romans in
254 BC. Conquered by the Arab troops of the Aghlabid dynasty in 831, it
flourished as a centre of trade with North Africa. Palermo was thus
quite prosperous when it fell to the Norman adventurers Roger I and
Robert Guiscard in 1072. The ensuing era of Norman rule (1072–1194) was
Palermo's golden age, particularly after the founding of the Norman
kingdom of Sicily in 1130 by Roger II. In 1194 Germany's Hohenstaufen
ruler, Frederick II, took over. Palermo was conquered by the French
under Charles of Anjou in 1266, but Angevin oppression was ended in 1282
by a popular uprising called the Sicilian Vespers. After 1412 the crown
of Sicily was united with that of Aragon and subsequently with that of
Spain. Palermo declined during this long period of Spanish rule. The
city was taken by Italian patriot Giuseppe de Garibaldi in 1860 and made
part of the kingdom of Italy. Heavily bombed during World War II, it was
captured by Allied forces in 1943. Notable buildings from the Norman and
later periods include the cathedral that contains the tombs of Roger II
and Frederick II. Palermo is Sicily's chief port, and ship repair is an
important industry.