Palermo, the capital city of Sicilia (Sicily)

Palermo, the capital and chief seaport of Sicily, lies along the Tyrrhenian Sea in the northwest of the island. The city was founded by Phoenicians between the 600's and 500's B.C. Muslims captured the city in A.D. 831 and made it an Arab emirate and a centre of trade and culture. The Normans conquered the city in 1072 and made it the capital of Sicily, the seat of King Roger's kingdom. After his death it passed to the German Hohenstaufens, the Holy Roman Empire and the French Anjou family, with all of Sicily, that eventually became part of Italy in 1860.

Today the city shows signs of decay and has a certain notoriety because of its links with the Mafia. Yet, there are still beautiful examples of past glory, like its churches and the Palatine Chapel, lavishly decorated with Byzantine mosaics. There are also delightful plazas, narrow streets and the lively Vucciria markets, almost like an oriental bazaar. A most unusual sight is the Capucin Catacombs with the mummified bodies of around 8000 wealthy citizens, who died in the 17th to 19th centuries; bodies, dressed in their best clothes, are aligned in niches along the walls.

A fantastic sight is the 12th century Norman cathedral of Monreale, around 8 km to the south west of Palermo. Considered the finest example of Norman architecture in Sicily, it was built for King William II and its interior is almost completely covered with gilded mosaics by Byzantine artists, representing the complete Old and New Testaments.

	Old city, Palermo	Palermo's cathedral	Church of San Cataldo	Byzantine mosaic
	Palatine Chapel	Church of San Giuseppe	Capuchin Catacombs	Chapel of Saint Rosalia
	Monreale cathedral	Ceiling, Monreale	Mosaic, Monreale	Vucciria market

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