Sicily Chapter 9: Palermo
Buonasera a tutti!
Well the time has finally come to cover the last few days of our Sicilian adventure. Our last subject for this year's blog is Palermo. We have seen so many wonderful things in Sicily and are happy to say that Palermo was just as amazing. So buckle up, we've got a lot to cover!
Here are some fun facts about Palermo:
Palermo is the capital of Sicily and has a history spanning 2,700 years.
The city's population is 626,000, and the larger metropolitan area has 1.2 million people, making it Italy's 5th largest city.
Palermo is known as the "most conquered city in the world," having been ruled by various civilizations including Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Normans, and others.
Because of these diverse influences over the centuries, Palermo is known for its art, architecture and cuisine.
Traditional puppet theatre has been a popular form of entertainment from as early as the 15th century. The shows are based upon Sicilian fables, local legend and history.
Palermo’s port is one of the biggest in the Mediterranean serving over 2 million passengers and around 5 million tonnes of cargo every year.
In 2015, Palermo was named the Street Food Capital of Europe.
With that quick overview to set the stage, we can move forward into our own personal adventures.
We were very impressed with the accommodations Savour Italy organized for us in Palermo and thought we'd show you what it looks like.
The Palazzo Planeta is an historic building erected in the early 1900's for the Planeta family. The facade displays a fragment of an actual WWII bomb that fell in 1943 and damaged the original Palazzo. "Grandfather Vito Planeta chose to keep the relic as a severe warning against the horrors of war", according to Palazzo Planeta publicity material.
The Palazzo is now used as an apartment-style hotel. It is in a peaceful area of the city and very well situated to the historic centre and is very close to many excellent restaurants and bars.
Here's the master bedroom
A very well-outfitted galley kitchen
And a luxurious bathroom
Just beside Palazzo Planeta is a lovely restaurant with a terrific menu
We had lunch there just after we arrived. We had a wonderful Rosatto wine and I had the lemon, parmesan and ricotta risotto.
Jenn had the Pachieri pasta with pistachio sauce!
... and Vince had the Busiate pasta with clams and sun-dried tomatoes
This building, the Teatro Massimo, was the designated meeting point for our tour. It is an opera house and located on the Piazza Verdi.
This is Concetta, our guide for our tour of the Centro Storico of Palermo. In this photo, she is explaining the importance of where we were standing - at the most important crossroads in the old town, known as "I Quattro Canti" - the four corners. Via Maqueda and Corso Vittorio Emanuele cross at this point and they mark where all four ancient quarters of the city meet. It was commissioned by Spanish Viceroys in the 17th century and contains many Spanish personalities of the day and other influences.
Corso Vittorio Emanuele
Chiesa di Santa Ninfa dei Crociferi, decorated for Easter. It is located one block north of I Quattro Canti.
This is the Fontana di Pretoria (built in1554), in Piazza Pretoria. It was nicknamed the "fountain of shame" in the 1860's because of the nudity of the statues. Interesting how morals can change over the centuries, isn't it?
This is the Palazzo Bordonero, once a beautiful dwelling on the Piazza Pretoria. It is now derelict due to family squabbles over the right of ownership.
Santa Maria dell'Ammiraglio is a Norman church commissioned in the 12th century by George of Antioch. He was the admiral of King Roger II of Sicily. So we get the name "dell'Ammiraglio", which means "of the Admiral".
San Cataldo (erected in 1154) is a good example of the Arab influence in some Norman architecture. It is attached to Santa Maria dell'Ammiraglio. Both are located on the south side of Piazza Bellini.
Santa Maria dell'Ammiraglio is renowned for its mosaics from the 12th century.
Ceiling Mosaics
This is the Nave of the dome of Santa Maria dell'Ammiraglio
On the north side of Piazza Bellini is the Chiesa di Santa Caterina d'Alessandria and its adjoining convent. The photo below is the convent’s Cloister garden.
The Dominican nuns were a silent order. So this small passage (about 12"x12") was the only way messages could be passed between the convent and the priests in the church that was connected.
Moving on from Piazza Bellini, we passed by this "fruittivendolo" - a fruit and vegetable vendor. I will always remember Sicily for the fantastic colours of these foods, as well as their wonderful aromas.
This is Chiesa del Gesù (Church of Jesus), established in the late 16th century by a Jesuit order. As you might expect with Jesuits, it is relatively plain on the exterior relative to the churches of other religious orders.
As you can see below, it is NOT plain on the inside. What a wonderful surprise!
Concetta told us that, in 1943, a bomb hit the dome of this church, destroying most of the surrounding walls and their paintings. These have since been restored.
Today, this street in the Centro Storico is very peaceful. But you can see very plainly the heavily damaged wall on the right side, where WWII bombings and their consequential fires left their mark.
The building has been recently renovated, and now operates as a luxury mansion hotel. I checked into it for you and found that there are a few dates available in January 2026. It's only 750 euros for 2 nights in a one bedroom apartment!
Here is the courtyard of the Palazzo. The columns are made of marble.
Next on our tour was the grand Duomo di Palermo (Cathedral of Palermo). It was built by the Normans in 1184 and takes up approximately 1.1 hectares (11,000 square meters). It has been cited in many different travel brochures as "a must see" for the many architectural styles incorporated into its facades (Norman, Moorish, Gothic, Baroque, and Neoclassical). Visitors can buy a ticket to gain access to the entire Cathedral complex, except for the rooftops. Three hours are recommended for a visit! We will plan to do this tour when next in Palermo.
Here is the main entrance through the three arches.
This is the rear view of the Cathedral of Palermo. It features the exterior facade of the Cappella Palatina, which was the Royal Chapel of the Norman Palace. It was built in the 12th century.
Just look at the detail in the walls - awesome!
This building is the Church of Madonna di Monte Oliveto. It was built in 1620 originally as a nunnery and later became the church of the Seminary of Palermo. It is located on the western side of the of the Cathedral.
The last part of our walking tour was to taste some "street food". On our way to the market, we passed through this neighbourhood where sheets of linen were hung out to protect against the sun.
Now, the informed traveller must have the following information to avoid embarrassment in conversation with Sicilians.
You see, the folks in Catania claim that a single rice ball is called an Arancino.
However, when in Palermo it is known as an Arancina.
So, depending on where you are in Sicily, do not under any circumstances mix them up, or you will be caught in an endless debate that includes scorn and derision! hahahaha!
But wait! Where are the drinks for the other two people at the table?? After waiting 30 minutes for them to arrive and not a single waiter in sight, we eventually abandoned this lonely drink. You know, it's probably still sitting on the table!
For our last dinner in Palermo, we chose Lo Scudiero. The interior is simple, yet elegant, no?
...and on the right is our shared Prima Piatta, Riso Pilaw con cure e gamberi (Pilaw rice with curry and shrimp).
Here we have the evening's menu of fresh fish
We chose the branzino (sea bass) and it was served very simply in lemon and butter. Sooooo fresh and tasty!
And for dessert, we shared Tiramisu and a sweet treat (we didn't get it's name) that was VERY decadent - a base of wafer crumbs, a chiffon-like creamy layer, then pistachio cream, and topped with pistachio nuts. Delicious!
Here we are with our very genteel host, Giuseppe Di Maria. Lo Scudiero is a fabulous place to eat!
On our last morning in Palermo, a Sunday, we decided to go to the lovely Antico Caffe Spinnato.
What did we have?
Tre cappuccini, due cornetti, uno cannolo, of course!
Lots of interesting people out on Sunday morning. First, there were the 3 of us...
...then there was this guy...black patent leather shoes, black pants, black coat, black hat and just that dapper bit of red. What would you think?
...here he is again (a bit blurry because we thought we might get in trouble taking his picture)
...hmmmmm...
...and then there was THIS guy! Truly, what would you think????
And now we have reached the end of our 2025 Italian adventure. We have enjoyed every bit of the story-telling as we relive our trip through these visual memories. We hope that you have enjoyed it with us and that, in some way, we have inspired you to try some of these adventures yourselves. It is truly a magnificent country with wonderful food, wine, history and architecture. But, as we always say, it is the Italian people themselves that really make for a fabulous experience!
Thanks once again to our friends at Savour Italy, Antonio and Coltura and the in-country support from Sireon. And of course, a special thank you to our guest contributor to the fun and the blogs, Jenn!! It was a blast having you along.
Look for us again next February for the next adventures.
In the meantime,
Ciao for now!!
Susanna, Vincenzo e Jenn
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