3-Hour Palermo Bike: Explore & Savor Granita!

The Theatre is the largest lyric theatre building in Italy and one of the largest opera houses in Europe, third by architectural magnitude after the theatres of Paris and of Vienna, with its over 7,730 square meters in size.

This is a long pedestrian island, which, from the central station, leads to the Massimo Theatre. It is a path that accompanies those who walk down it on an authentic journey through Palermo’s multicultural history. The stretch of via Maqueda close to the station is home to welcoming group of communities made up of African people, Sri Lankans, and people from Bangladesh, who put their roots down here long ago. The mosque in via Giosafat and the many food stores (and others) that sell products typical of these backgrounds are evidence of this, right next to the one of the entrances to Ballarò market.

Quattro Canti are found at the junction of the city’s two major roads – via Vittorio Emanuele and via Maqueda, which, by chance, have become a single pedestrian area that allows you to admire the elegance and beauty of the rich historical heritage that it is home to. You can walk through the nearby alleyways, admire their magic, eat in a trattoria and relax with an aperitif in one of the many bars.

Piazza Pretoria is located close to the Vigliena intersection known as the “Quattro Canti”, the very center of the old Palermo. The square is on a higher lever than Via Maqueda and it’s enriched by a monumental fountain in the middle, surrounded by many important buildings. It takes its name by the city hall building, also known as Palazzo Pretorio (or Palazzo delle Aquile).

The descent of the Judges goes from Piazza Sant'Anna to Piazza Bellini. Once called "calata dei giudici", the street takes its name from the Judges of the Praetorian Court, who once lived there, in the monastery of S. Caterina. The Court was presided over by the praetor (in ancient times called baiulo, corresponding to today's mayor) in civil cases, while in criminal cases there was an avenger. The judges were elected by the king himself, on the proposal of the viceroy, they had to be from Palermo and their office lasted one year. In the 13th and 14th centuries the judges met at S. Maria dell'Ammiraglio, in the atrium of the church, while subsequently, starting from 1550, the Court began to meet in the new town hall, until 1636 when it was definitively transferred to a palace (now no longer existing) which was located on the corner between via Maqueda and piazza Bellini, which until recently was the seat of the Accademia dei Cavalieri. The court was definitively suppressed in 1816.

Piazza Sant'Anna

The Genius of Piazza Revolution or Fontana del Genio, formerly called Genio del Molo or Genio della Fieravecchia,[1] is a 16th-century statue placed on a 19th-century fountain located in Piazza Revolution, in the Fieravecchia district in Palermo. The Genius of Piazza Revolution is one of the eight monumental representations of the Genius of Palermo, the ancient tutelary deity of the city. Due to the symbolic value assumed by the Genius of Piazza Revolution during the Palermo uprisings that preceded the Risorgimento, this monument is particularly important in defining the modern meaning of the Genius of Palermo as a lay protector of the city.

Piazza della Magione

Built upon the input of the Giacomo Basilicò jurist, in 1509, to celebrate the pain of the Madonna, the church of Santa Maria dello Spasimo is one of the most evocative of all of Sicily and distinguished by a truly unique detail: it does not have a roof.

Kalsa or Mandamento Tribunali is a historical quarter of the Italian city of Palermo in Sicily. It is sometimes referred to as la Kalsa or the Kalsa.

Porta Felice is one of the monumental gates of Palermo, located near the sea, at the beginning of the Via Vittorio Emanuele, one of the main axes of the city. The gate takes its name from Donna Felice Orsini, wife of the Spanish Viceroy Marcantonio Colonna, who, in 1582, decided to give a monumental entrance to the Cassaro, the most ancient street in Palermo, the current Via Vittorio Emanuele.

Piazza Marina is a square of Palermo. It is located down the Cassaro street, in the quarter of the Kalsa, within the historic centre of Palermo. The square is dominated by the great Garibaldi Garden.

“I Quattro Canti” (The Four Corners) is one of Palermo’s most spectacular and popular spots. The four buildings that outline the square were built between 1608 and 1620, while the sculptures and decorative elements were completed in 1663. Piazza Vigliena, one of the many names by which the Quattro Canti are also called, is the ideal starting point for a tour of Palermo city. The origins of the Quattro Canti date back to 1600, when the Senate of Palermo decided to create a new street, Via Maqueda, to intersect with what is now Via Vittorio Emanuele and divide Palermo “into four noble parts”.

The Cathedral of Palermo is a treasure of the Norman architecture in Sicily. The Cathedral of Palermo is one of the most important architectural monuments in Sicily. It was built in 1184 by the Normans as a re-converted Christian church on the site of a Muslim Mosque that was previously built over a Christian basilica. This Cathedral is a must see when visiting Palermo! The reason for building this cathedral was to surpass in beauty the Cathedral of Monreale so you can imagine how architectural exaggeration was involved due to the competitiveness. What we see today is the result of a stratification of styles over the centuries from Gothic to Medieval, Arabic (an actual passage from the Koran is still engraved on one of the columns) to Neoclassical.

Victory Square. Beginning of the twentieth century. In 1905, with the arrangement of Piazza Vittoria in Palermo, Giuseppe Damiani Almeyda designed Villa Bonanno, a villa named after the mayor of Palermo Pietro Bonanno who wanted this work to be built which redeveloped the floor in front of the Norman Palace. The villa is mainly characterized by its luxuriant palm trees and by some elements of considerable interest: "The guardian's house" designed by Almeyda, the marble bust of the mayor Bonanno with the base designed by Ernesto Basile, the monument dedicated to Philip IV made by Nunzio Morello in 1856 but designed in 1661 by Carlo d'Aprile with the collaboration of the Serpotta family and the remains of the two Roman patrician houses which were brought to light in the XNUMXth century.

The Palazzo dei Normanni (Norman Palace) is also called Royal Palace of Palermo. It was the seat of the Kings of Sicily with the Hauteville dynasty and served afterwards as the main seat of power for the subsequent rulers of Sicily. Since 1946 it has been the seat of the Sicilian Regional Assembly. The building is the oldest royal residence in Europe; and was the private residence of the rulers of the Kingdom of Sicily and the imperial seat of Frederick II and Conrad IV.