Palermo
sicily-travel
The Catthedral of the Palermo, When walking in Corso Vittorio Emanuele (the Cassaro) towards the Norman Palace, you will unexpectedly run into the Cathdral, with its spire towers, its double lancet windows, its intertwined and pointed arches. Rising among the narrow streets and the 3 or 4 storey buildings of the Cassaro, it is fantastically majestic. Built in 1184, it still preserves its original structure in spite of the changes brought along the centuries, the most relevant of which was the addition of the aisles and of the baroque dome at the end of the XVIII century. The Cathedral features some sculptures by Gagini, together with Henry VI, Frederick II and Constance of Aragon’s tombs, but also some verses from the Koran engraved on a column and the silver urn housing the remains of S. Rosalia, patroness of Palermo.
The City: Palermo is the regional capital of Sicily, which is the largest and most heavily populated (about 5,000,000) island in the Mediterranean.The area has been under numerous dominators over the centuries, including Roman, Carthaginian, Byzantine, Greek, Arab, Norman, Swabian and Spanish masters. Due to this past, to the cultural exchange that for millennia has taken place in the area, the city is still an exotic mixtute of many cultures. Many of the monuments still exist giving the city somewhat unique appearance.
The city of Palermo, including the province of Palermo, has around 1,300,000 inhabitants and has about 200 Km of coastline. The old town of Palermo is one of the largest in Europe, full of references to the past.
Palermo reflects the diverse history of the region in that the city contains many masterpieces from different periods, including romanesque, gothic, renaissance and baroque architecture as well as examples of modern art.
The city also hosts it's rich vegetation of palm trees, prickly pears, bananas, lemon trees and so on.
The Theatres of Massimo in Palermo, It is one of the largest theatres in Europe (7730 mq), a neoclassical masterpiece started by Giovanni Battista Basile in 1875 and completed by his son Ernesto in 1897. Recently restored, it is now the lyrical temple of the city, staging the opera and ballet official season.
Cappella Palatina, Built in 1130, year of King Roger II’s crowning, inside the Norman Palace, it is definitely one of the most famous sights in Palermo. Covered in dazzling Byzantine mosaics (akin to those in the church of the Martorana and in the Monreale Cathedral), it is a symbol of the political and cultural union operated by the Normans.
Palazzo Reale of the Normanni, Built in the IX century on Punic and Roman remains, it has always been the see of Sicilian and Palermitan governors: emirs, kings and viceroys lived in this building, which today houses the Sicilian Regional Parliament. The Palace features the dazzling Palatine Chapel and many outstanding rooms, such as king Roger’s room, the Pompeian room, the Room of the Duke of Montalto and the room of Hercules.
The Capuchin Catacombs of Palermo (also Catacombe dei Cappuccini or Catacombs of the Capuchins) are burial catacombs in Palermo, Sicily, southern Italy. Today they provide a somewhat macabre tourist attraction as well as an extraordinary historical record.
Palermo's Capuchin monastery outgrew its original cemetery in the 16th century and monks began to excavate crypts below it. In 1599 they mummified one of their number, recently-dead brother Silvestro of Gubbio, and placed him into the catacombs.
The bodies were dehydrated on the racks of ceramic pipes in the catacombs and sometimes later washed with vinegar. Some of the bodies were embalmed and others enclosed in sealed glass cabinets. Monks were preserved with their everyday clothing and sometimes with ropes they had worn as a penance.
Originally the catacombs were intended only for the dead friars. However, in the following centuries it became a status symbol to be entombed into the capuchin catacombs. In their wills, local luminaries would ask to be preserved in certain clothes, or even to have their clothes changed at regular intervals. Priests wore their clerical vestments, others were clothed according to the contemporary fashion. Relatives would visit to pray for the deceased and also to maintain the body in presentable condition. The catacombs were maintained through the donations of the relatives of the deceased. Each new body was placed in a temporary niche and later placed into a more permanent place. As long as the contributions continued, the body remained in its proper place but when the relatives did not send money any more, the body was put aside on a shelf until they continued to pay.
+39 347 6708101
