The City

Palermo is the Capital of Sicily, which is the largest Italian Island at the tip of the boot shaped peninsula. Located on the north side of the island, the port city benefits both from tall mountains and seaside. Useful things to note are:

• International Dialing Code: +39
• Average High Temperature : 28.8°C
• Average Low Temperature : 8.2°C
• Currency: Euro(EUR)

The relatively mild climate allows Palermo to be visited all year around, although the best time is in the summer when the sea is warm and can be great refreshment from the warmth.

Palermo was originally founded by Phoenician tradesmen around the 8th century BC because of the natural port conditions of the landscape. The Greek called the city Panormus- meaning all-port. The city remained Phoenician until the First Punic war (264-241BC) when Sicily fell under the Roman rule, followed by the Eastern Byzantine Empire and in the 9th century by the Arabs.

During the Arab rule, the capital of Sicily was moved to Palermo and the city became a hub of trade, culture and learning. It is said that more than 300 mosques were built in the city. In this period of peace, Muslim, Jews and Christians lived together in tolerance and prospered. In 1060 a crusade wad launched and Palermo and Sicily fell under Norman rule. The Normans allowed for the tolerance to continue, but converted a lot of the mosques into churches under their rule. This hybrid style between Norman and Arab culture can be best seen in the Palatine Chapel inside the Norman Palace.

Palermo continued to fall under the control of different administration systems, such as The Holy Roman Empire(1194), Angevin rule(1266-1282), House of Aragon, Kingdom of Spain(1479), Bourbon Rule (1734) and finally annexed to the Kingdom of Italy in 1860.

In the 15th and 16th century, Baroque basilicas were built in Palermo, many which can be seen today. Under the Bourbon rule, Palermo lost its importance and many buildings and palaces fell into decay.

In 1848 the first revolutionary upheavals started in Palermo. The Italian Risorgimento and Sicily's annexation (1860) to the kingdom of Italy gave Palermo a chance to once again become the administrative center of Sicily and prosper. This was mainly led by the Florio Family.

In the early 20th century, Palermo expanded outside the old city walls with new buildings in Art Nouveau Style and many villas built by the famous architect Ernesto Basile.