Where exactly is it?
Palermo is on the northwest coast of the Italian island of Sicily, the largest in the Mediterranean Sea and separated from mainland Italy by the Straits of Messina. Palermo is the capital of the autonomous region of Sicily and is also its biggest city with a population of approximately 850,000 people.
How do I get there?
Ryanair fly direct from Dublin to Palermo twice a week with an estimated flight time of three hours, thirty minutes. Another option is to travel with Aer Lingus to the island’s second city, Catania, rent a car and make the scenic 200km journey that separates the island’s chief population centres.
What language do they speak?
Italian is naturally the language spoken by the vast majority of the city’s inhabitants. However, the region’s older generation also speak another tongue known as Sicilian, a Romance language unique to the island and mainland’s southern tip. It’s a language that’s been widely influenced by the island’s many conquerors since antiquity, including the Phoenicians, Greeks, Arabs, Normans and Catalans.
What is the local beer like?
Birra Messina is the local’s favourite, a crisp lager, ideally served ice-cold in the baking hot Sicilian summer! The craft-beer bug has also struck southern Italy and brewpubs are beginning to open their doors in the capital city. A short stroll from Palermo’s Norman palace is Spillo, a spacious bar specialising in the region’s best tipples, including its very own thirst quenchers, brewed on-site.
Other drinks?
There’s lots of choice! Italian wine is world renowned, especially Chianti from the northern region of Tuscany, but the local Sicilian reds are also excellent, largely due to rich soil in the vicinity of Mount Etna and the island’s warm, sunny climate. Dessert wine is also popular, particularly the sweet, fortified Marsala, which is similar in taste to sherry. Other options include the bright yellow, lemon liqueur limoncello or the uniquely Sicilian herbal drink Amaro.
What is the transport like?
Palermo doesn’t have an integrated transport system to the level of Rome or Milan, but it’s still a straightforward city to navigate and much of its historic centre is easily covered by foot. A network of bus routes connect all the significant points of interest with the downtown area and the national rail service link the capital with the region’s other main urban areas including Catania and Messina. If you’ve plenty of time to kill, another possibility is to travel onward by passenger boat from the city’s ancient port to Naples, Genoa or to the Tunisian capital, Tunis.
What’s the food like?
Unsurprisingly, eating out in Sicily is the business! Palermo’s maritime tradition has shaped the city’s cuisine, which has been heavily influenced by Arab, Greek and Spanish visitors down the centuries, alongside the classic Italian culinary tradition. Feasting remains an important part of the island’s culture and vast banquets are served by families to mark significant events such as birthdays and baptisms. Fresh fish and vegetable markets are scattered throughout the city and are worth a visit to see the island’s bountiful harvest.
Caponata, a sweet and sour salad made from fried aubergine, balsamic vinegar and capers, is extremely popular, and an ideal accompaniment to some boiled octopus or veal and pine nut rolls. Don’t leave the island without sampling the delicious variety of street food known as buffitieri.
What’s the nightlife like?
Palermo’s nightlife is somewhat typical of a seaside Italian city. Many of the bars also serve food and have large outdoor areas where people sip wine, chat and watch the world amble by. The city can boast some amazing haunts, particularly the Kursaal Kalhesa a bar/restaurant/venue, located in a restored aristocratic palace in the port district. The American Bar, on a terrace overlooking the city, is a great place to sip wine and watch the world go by before you head to the Mikalsa venue to hear the best covers bands tear it up, into the night. If you fancy something more refined head for the Teatro Massimo, where regular opera, ballet and classical music concerts take place through the year. For a taste of the local pastime of ‘people watching’ wander into the busy Piazza Verdi after dark, where hundreds of Sicilians of all ages are engrossed in conversation over a coffee or ice-cream.
Why should I go?
Palermo is a wonderfully chaotic place, full of magnificent architecture, great food and spirited, welcoming people, some of whom are amongst the world’s most dangerous drivers! Unlike Rome or Florence, Palermo doesn’t have world-famous cathedrals and Roman buildings and instead people travel here to experience the laidback Sicilian lifestyle centred on eating out and relaxing over a glass of red with friends. Many of its oldest streets, decorated with Baroque facades, are crumbling and defaced with graffiti, lending Palermo a raw and edgy feel. It’s a city that teems with life from the thronged street markets, filled with its famed local produce, to the coffee houses that spill out into the many squares that dot the historic centre.
What are the touristy things to do?
The vast historic centre is second only to Rome in terms of size and scale. It’s a labyrinth of tiny alleyways that link the main routes and piazzas. The main sights are all within easy reach of one another including the city’s many beautiful Norman palaces and churches. The ornate Palazzo dei Normanni is regarded as one of Italy’s finest palaces and home to the Cappella Palatina. The chapel was built for the Norman kings of Sicily and is decorated in Byzantine mosaics and pieces of fine art. The cavernous Cathedral is worth a visit, as is the Arab-influenced twelfth century church of San Giovanni degli Eremiti, famous for its red domes. Many sections of the old city wall are intact and are a convenient and easily navigable link between Palermo’s tourist attractions. The Capuchin Catacombs are a somewhat grisly attraction, containing the remains of hundreds of clergymen and aristocrats in various levels of preservation. The city’s botanical gardens are the largest of its kind anywhere in Italy and contain a huge collection of Mediterranean and tropical plant-life. If you fancy catching a bit of football, head to the Stadio Renzo Barbera, home to Palermo, affectionately known as the Rosanero (‘Pink-blacks’) by their fanatical supporters.
Anything else?
Less than an hour from the city is the town of Corleone, famed as the birthplace of the notorious Sicilian mafia. A number of tour companies operate guided trips to Corleone, where they explain how the organisation came to prominence in the ’60s and how they built their considerable crime empire.
Anything to avoid?
Reprising Dennis Hopper’s speech from the film True Romance concerning the origins of Sicilians might be considered an unwise idea. Also, pickpocketing is big business in Palermo! If you’re frequenting busy city squares or markets, be sure to keep your wallet or handbag safe from harm. There are also certain parts of the old city, particularly some of the unlit networks of alleyways, which aren’t recommended after dark.
What should I bring home?
Foodstuffs and wine are the outstanding choices. Sicilian wines, marzipan, chocolate and luxury homemade olive oil will add a splash of Mediterranean magic to any dinner table. Ceramics are a beautiful traditional gifts and leather goods are of the highest quality. Be prepared to bargain hard at the local markets!
When should I go?
A Sicilian summer is something to be experienced! If baking in 40-degree-plus heat isn’t your bag then avoid July and August at all costs. The shoulder months of spring and autumn will still guarantee endless sunshine and you won’t have to take cover in the nearest café every ten minutes!
What’s my challenge?
Experience the raucous atmosphere of this ancient city, a place where relaxed café culture and colourful food markets sit side-by-side with choking city traffic and wonderful architecture, built over the centuries by the many tribes that conquered its shores. Enjoy its glorious cuisine, fine wines and sweet liqueurs. Palermo is certainly a city of contrast.
What’s the currency?
The local currency is the euro (EUR).
Something to remember...
Just over 200 kilometres to Palermo’s east lies Italy’s largest active volcano, Mount Etna. In 2002 it erupted, sending forth an ash cloud that was visible from space and scattering ash debris in Libya, over 600 kilometres away.