Page 87 - The Rough Guide of Sicily

Palermo

In its own wide bay underneath the limestone bulk of Monte Pellegrino, and fronting

the broad and fertile Conca d’Oro (Golden Shell) valley, PALERMO is stupendously
sited. Originally a Phoenician colony, it was taken by the Carthaginians in the fifth
century BC and became an important Punic bulwark against the Greek influence
elsewhere on the island. It was named Panormus (All Harbour) after its obvious
mercantile attractions, and it remained in Carthaginian hands until 254 BC, when the

city fell to the Romans. Yet Palermo’s most glorious days were still to come. In 831
AD the city was captured by the Arabs, under whose rule it thrived as an Islamic
cultural and intellectual centre – the River Papineto that now flows beneath the city
was said to speak with the Nile and abide by its tides. Two centuries later under the
Normans, the settlement continued to flower as Europe’s greatest metropolis – famed
for the wealth of its court, and unrivalled as a nexus of learning.

Palermo’s later fortunes fluctuated with a succession of other foreign rulers, but the
city always retained its pre-eminence on the island. However, Allied bombs during
World War II destroyed much of the port area and turned large parts of the medieval
town into a ramshackle demolition site – a state of affairs that is only now gradually
being resolved. Regeneration has been aided by funds from the European Union –
when not siphoned off by illicit means – (see The Mafia in Palermo), and nowadays

although decay and deprivation are still apparent in Palermo, a more positive spirit
animates the city, typified by a burgeoning number of boutique B&Bs sited in the old-
town areas. Although there are notable relics from the ninth to the twelfth centuries –
Palermo in its prime – it’s the rebuilding of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries that
shaped the city as it appears today. Traditionally, Palermo has been a city of rich

palazzi and churches, endowed by the island’s ruling families and wealthy monastic
orders, from the mighty Cattedrale to the nearby mosaic-decorated Cappella Palatina,
tucked inside the Palazzo dei Normanni. Each old quarter features countless other
fascinating churches and chapels, while enthusiasts can trace the city’s Norman and
Baroque heritage in a series of landmark buildings and sights. But just to see Palermo
in terms of an architectural tour would be to ignore much of what makes it unique,

from its rollicking markets and traditional street food to the backstreet puppet
theatres and creepy catacombs. There’s certainly never a dull moment in Sicily’s
feistiest city.