In its own wide bay underneath the
limestone bulk of Monte Pellegrino,
and fronting the broad, fertile
Conca d'Oro (Golden Shell) Valley,
PALERMO
is stupendously sited. Originally a
Phoenician, then a Carthaginian
colony, this remarkable city was
long considered a prize worth
capturing. Named Panormus (All
Harbour), its mercantile attractions
were obvious, and under Saracen and
Norman rule in the ninth to twelfth
centuries Palermo became the
greatest city in Europe - famed for
the wealth of its court, and
peerless as a centre of learning.
There are plenty of relics from this
era, but it's the rebuilding of the
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries
that shaped the city as you see it
today.
It's worth making Palermo your
first stop in Sicily. It's the
island's main transport centre, and
it boasts Sicily's greatest
concentration of sights. Quite apart
from the Arab influence in its
finest churches, there's more than a
hint of the city's eastern past in
its undisciplined centre, a
sprawling, almost anarchic mass with
no real focus: great pockets of
medieval alleys, nineteenth-century
piazzas, twentieth-century bombsites
and contemporary office blocks all
conspire to confuse what is
essentially a straightforward street
grid. Money from Rome and from the
European Union has been earmarked
for a redevelopment of the city
centre, and, despite signs of
improvement, the obstacles remain
huge: this is partly due to the
age-old system of kickbacks for
contracts and tenders to bent
politicians and the Mafia, which
have creamed off much of the money.
One of the few to stand up against
this state of affairs has been Leoluca
Orlando , who, following his
deposition by his own Christian
Democrat party in 1990, went on to
found and lead the anti-Mafia and
anti-Masonic party, La Rete ,
and he continues to make progress
against the forces of graft and
corruption as Palermo's mayor. While
doubtless retaining his place on the
Mafia's hit list, Orlando's
prominence on the national stage has
helped to focus attention on reform
of the city's institutions and
reverse the tendency of neglect and
decay that has characterized the
city for centuries.
The essential sights are all
pretty central, and if you are
disciplined enough you could get
around them in a couple of days.
Paramount are the hybrid Cattedrale
and nearby Palazzo dei Normanni
(Royal Palace), with its superb,
mosaic-decorated chapel, the Cappella
Palatina ; the glorious Norman
churches of La Martorana and San
Giovanni degli Eremeti ; the
Baroque opulence of San Giuseppe
dei Teatini and Santa
Caterina ; and three magnificent
museums - inspiring
collections of art, archeology and
ethnography.
This historical jumble of
treasures has its downside. Many
people have continued to live in
their medieval ghettos, unemployment
is endemic, the old port largely
idle and petty crime commonplace.
Some areas - La Kalsa and area
around La Cala in particular - can
be positively dangerous if you're
not careful, and every pensione
owner will warn you to watch your
money and camera. Don't be paranoid,
though: things are not significantly
worse than any other European city,
and the only rule is to avoid any
quiet neighbourhood, especially at
night.
