Opinions about the cathedral of Palermo are quite divided. Some people think that the building is magnificent, and that the mixture of architectural styles presents us with an intriguing summary of the various phases in Sicilian history. Others, however, believe that the cathedral is simply hideous and lament what later…
In many of the more interesting churches of Palermo visitors have to buy a ticket to enter, and the very interesting church of Santa Maria della Catena is no exception to this rule. The lady who sold me a ticket said that it would get me a discount if I…
The Oratory of the Rosary of San Domenico is situated behind the church of the same name. Starting in 1574, it was built for a lay fraternity, the Compagnia della Madonna del Rosario di San Domenico. The paintings on the side walls are associated with the Mysteries of the Rosary.…
Palermo is known for its many beautiful small oratories, but the Oratory of the Rosary of Santa Cita has got to be the most beautiful of them all. The building, which does not look very appealing on the outside, stands next to the former church of Santa Cita, dedicated to…
The sixteenth-century oratory of Saint Lawrence stands next to the medieval church of San Francesco d’Assisi and is closely associated with it. Starting in 1569 the building served as the meeting place for the Compagnia di San Francesco, a lay fraternity with many merchants from Genoa among its members. One…
The church of San Francesco turned out to be a pleasant surprise. In many churches in Palermo visitors have to buy a ticket. The money you pay is then used for maintenance of the church building. The church of San Francesco d’Assisi, however, does not have an admission charge, which…
People visiting the Ponte dell’Ammiraglio in Palermo will not immediately take it for a monument that is on the UNESCO list of world heritage. The environs of the bridge are rather shabby. There is a lot of traffic on the busy Corso dei Mille and a lot of trash in…
“Signore, fiori?” On my way to the famous church of Santo Spirito in Palermo I was asked that question at least five times: whether I wanted to buy flowers. The question is not that odd, as the church is situated in one of the largest cemeteries of the city, that…
Perhaps I had underestimated a bit how important the feast of Epiphany is for the people of Palermo. I found a lot of tourist attractions in the city closed on that day, but the Palazzo Abatellis in the Via Alloro welcomed me with open arms. The palazzo houses the Galleria…
It was starting to get dark when I arrived at the gate that gives access to the complex of Santissima Trinità del Cancelliere, more commonly known under its much shorter name La Magione. The date was 5 January and most Christmas decorations had not yet been removed. The church is…
Together with the palace of La Zisa, discussed previously, La Cuba is one of the summer residences of the Norman kings of Sicily outside Palermo. The palace was built in 1180 by King William II “the Good” (1166-1189). The name of the Arab-Norman building is obviously not related to the…
The palace of La Zisa was once one of the summer residences of the Norman kings of Sicily. The construction of the palace started in 1165 during the reign of King William I “the Bad” (1154-1166). Although the King hired competent workmen who built the palace in record time, La…
The Palazzo dei Normanni is the royal palace of Palermo. The name “palace of the Normans” dates from the twentieth century. It is a name that is not necessarily incorrect – the building was indeed a residence of the Norman kings of Sicily – but it does ignore that many…
There was a big crowd at the Cappella Palatina, the royal chapel of the Palazzo dei Normanni in Palermo. The chapel is not that large, so custodians only let in a limited number of visitors at the same time. When you are waiting in the queue outside, you can take…
On the Piazza Bellini in Palermo there is always a church in sight. On the north side stands the Santa Caterina d’Alessandria, a church that combines Renaissance, Baroque and Rococo elements. More interesting and certainly older are the two churches on the south side. Here, on a platform, we find…
The terrain around the former church of San Giovanni degli Eremiti is one of the most idyllic spots in all of Palermo. If you go for a stroll there, you can image yourself being somewhere in the Middle East. The former church and adjacent cloister are surrounded by a charming…
The church of San Cataldo is definitely the most conspicuous building on the Piazza Bellini in Palermo. With its Arabic lancet windows and three red domes the church could just as well have been a mosque. The San Cataldo, which has been UNESCO world heritage since 2015, is a fine…
From Palermo’s railway station it is still quite a long walk to the small church of San Giovanni dei Lebbrosi. The route is very simple, but those who take it will not cross the most interesting parts of the city. Just follow the Corso dei Mille, named after the Thousand…