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What to See


[ Key Attractions ] [ Further Distractions ]

Key Attractions


Palazzo dei Normanni e Cappella Palatina (Norman Palace and Palatine Chapel)
The Palazzo, which used to be the royal residence in Norman times, is now the seat of the Regional Parliament. Founded by King Roger II in 1130, the Cappella Palatina is a jewel of Norman art with a splendid Arab honeycomb wooden ceiling and exquisite Byzantine mosaics in shades of gold and blue.

Palatine Chapel
Tel: (091) 705 4732/4317.
Website: www.ars.sicilia.it

Norman Palace
Tel: (091) 705 1111/7003.
Website: www.ars.sicilia.it

San Giovanni degli Eremiti (St John of the Hermits)
Built in 1132, the site has undergone recent refurbishment. It is the most obviously Arabic of the city’s Norman relics, with five ochre domes topping a little church built on the remains of an earlier mosque. The beautiful cloister and luxuriant garden make a peaceful haven in the Albergheria.

Via dei Benedettini
Tel: (091) 651 5019.

La Cattedrale (The Cathedral)
Originally a mosque, the cathedral has been altered and built on by most of Sicily’s invaders, explaining its not altogether coherent exterior. Roger II’s tomb is inside and the treasury contains religious artefacts such as a tiara belonging to Constance of Aragon.

Corso Vittorio Emanuele
Tel: (091) 334 373.

Mercato della Vucciria (Vucciria Market)
Head to this very atmospheric place early in the morning to see the market at its busiest and most colourful. The local speciality is salted anchovies. The Vucciria, which spreads in a maze of side streets around Piazza San Domenico, is where the Mafia traditionally recruited its hitmen.

Piazza Caracciolo, Piazza Garraffello

Catacombe dei Cappuccini (Capuchin Catacombs)
A darker option, these catacombs contain the bodies of some 8,000 ecclesiastics and distinguished citizens embalmed by Capuchin friars in the 17-19th centuries.

Via Cappuccini 1
Tel: (091) 212 117.

Orto Botanico (Botanical Gardens)
The lush Orto Botanico is a tranquil oasis in the city that houses an enormous variety of exotic plants from all over the world.

Via Abramo Lincoln 2/A
Tel: (091) 623 8234 or 800 903 631, in Italy only.
Website: www.ortobotanico.palermo.it

Galleria Regionale della Sicilia (Sicilian Regional Gallery)
Housed in the beautiful Abatellis Palazzo, this is a pictorial testimony to the island from the 11th-17th centuries. Don’t miss the Triumph of Death (15th-century), an amazing fresco by an unknown artist, and the Annunciation by Antonello da Messina.

Via Alloro 4
Tel: (091) 623 0011.
Website: www.regione.sicilia.it
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Further Distractions


Museo Internazionale delle Marionette (International Puppet Museum)
Over 3,000 exhibits, including Sicilian and foreign puppets and marionettes, are displayed here. The collection of puppets from Palermo, Catania and Naples is the widest and most complete in existence today.

Piazzetta Nisceni 5
Tel: (091) 328 060.
Website: www.museomarionettepalermo.it

Museo Etnografico Giuseppe Pitre (Ethnographic Museum Giuseppe Pitre)
The place to go for Sicilian handicrafts - lace, pottery, tools for hunting, fishing and agriculture and ornaments are all on show here.

Palazzina Cinese, Via Duca degli Abruzzi 1
Tel: (091) 740 4893.
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