Visiting Palermo
the administrative seat of Sicily

One of the most peculiar and interesting facts tourists should know about Palermo is that this city is considered by the experts as the most conquered one in the entire world. Palermo was controlled by the Phoenicians until around the year 260 BC, when the Roman Empire rule started. After that, Palermo became ruled by the Eastern Byzantine Empire until the 9th century, when it passed to the hands of the Arab Aghlabids. Next, Palermo became controlled by the Saracens, until around 1065 when the Normans started ruling it. Consequently, Palermo was also ruled by the Holy Roman Empire, the Aragons, and the kingdom of Spain, among others.

Due to the great amount of different rulers and inhabitants Palermo has had, it has a very varied and unusual architecture, and appearance in general. This city counts with a wide amount of interesting antique constructs which tourists should not miss during their vacation, such as, for example, the Cathedral of Palermo, The Church of Jesus, the Porta Nuova, the Palazzo deo Normanni, the Zisa, the San Giovanni degli Eremiti, the Cappella Palatina of roger II, the Fontana Pretoria, the Church of Magione, the Teatro Politeama, and the Harbor Monte Pellegrino among others.

The religious constructs visitors can find in this destination are among the most interesting ones in all of Italy. One of the more interesting constructs is the Santa Maria dello Spasimo, a cathedral built around 1505, which inspired Raphael for his Sicilia's Spasimo. Another interesting religious building visitors can see when they travel to Palermo is the Santa Teresa alla Kalsa. The church of Santa Teresa alla Kalsa was built between 1685 and 1705, while the city was ruled by the Arabs, and shows an inordinately interesting combination of Arabic architectural elements combined with the Sicilian Baroque style.