Palermo is the capital of Sicily and its largest city - stupendously sited in its own wide bay underneath the limestone bulk of Monte Pellegrino. Originally a Phoenician, then a Carthaginian colony, this remarkable city was long considered a prize worth capturing. After the first Punic war it passed from the Carthaginian hands to the Romans (254 - 253 B.C.) and later became a colony under the reign of Augustus.

Under the Arab domination it obtains great splendour: it becomes an emirate and will hold around 300 mosques. As an Arab reporter of the time describes, from the interior rise one could admire the red domes among the green of the Conca dOro. Finally Palermo became Norman in 1072 with a conquest by Ruggero dAltavilla. Ruggero II raises it as capital of the Sicilian Reign and Federico II Houhenstaufen crowns it Capital of the Mediterranean Culture, creating the first Sicilian school. Palermo became the greatest city in Europe, famed for the wealth of its court and peerless as a centre of learning.

In the hands of the Angevins it passes through a phase of decline, due to the transfer of the Reigns Capital to Naples. For the misgovernment, the population revolts: War of the Vespers (Easter 1282). In the course of its history, Palermo always searched for independence and the role as Capital. In fact, this is revealed in the attempt of the Neapolitan Republic to impose the Bourbonist Constitution (1812). On the 27th of May 1860, the city hands itself over to garibaldi.

The long history of the city assures that there is a lot to see, although the city as a whole, as well as some of the sights, are in need of repair.

Nowadays Palermo is a fast, brash and exciting city. The mix of arabic and viking influences is one of the strangest and unexpected surprises the city has to offer. Buildings dating from the 11th and 12th century, the heyday of Medieval Sicily, offer this peculiar quality. The most noteworthy and an absolute must is the Palazzo dei Normanni

Other interesting sights include the Quattro Canti, a nice example of Baroque architecture and the Catacombs. From the 16th to the last century local noblemen and clergy were mummified here. Very impressive are the Monastery and Cathedral of Monreale in the nearby village of Monreale (a couple of kilometers out of the city-center).

Abruzzo National Park
Agrigento
Alassio
Alassio
Albenga
Albenga
Alberobello
Albisola and Albissola
Alghero
Altare
Amalfi
Ancona
Andora
Aosta
Aquila
Arezzo
Arnasco
Asolo
Assisi
Bagno a Ripoli
Balestrino
Bardineto
Basilicata
Basso Veronese
Bellaria
Bergamo
Bergeggi
Bergeggi park
Boissano
Bologna
Bolzano
Borghetto Santo Spirito
Borgio Verezzi
Bormida
Brescia
Brindisi
Cagliari
Cairo Montenotte
Calenzano
Calice Ligure
Calizzano
Camogli
Campobasso
Capraia e Limite
Capri
Carcare
Carloforte
Casamicciola
Casanova Lerrone
Caserta
Castelbianco
Castelfiorentino
Castelvecchio di Rocca Barbena
Castiglione della Pescaia
Catania
Cattolica
Celle Ligure
Cengio
Ceriale
Ceriale
Cerreto Guidi
Certaldo
Cerveteri
Cervinia
Chiavari
Cisano sul Neva
Civitavecchia
Como
Cortona
Cosenza
Cosseria
Courmayeur
Dego
Empoli
Erli
Ferrara
Fiesole
Figline
Finale Ligure
Finale valley
Fiorenzuola
Florence
Forio
Frascati
Fucecchio
Gallinara park
Gambassi Terme
Gardone
Garlenda
Genoa
Giustenice
Giusvalla
Grado
Greve in Chianti
Gubbio
Herculaneum
Impero valley
Impruneta
Impruneta
Incisa in val d'Arno
Ischia Porto & Ponte
Isernia
La Maddelena
La Spezia
La Spezia
Lago Maggiore
Laigueglia
Lake Bracciano
Lake Vico
Lampedusa
Lavagna
Lazise
Lecce
Lerici
Lessinia
Linosa
Lipari
Loano
Lucca
Magliolo
Mallare
Mantua
Marciana Marina
Marina di Campo
Massimino
Milan
Millesimo
Mioglia
Misano Adriatico
Monreale
Montecatini Terme
Montelupo Fiorentino
Monterosso
Mungivacca
Murialdo
Nasino
Noli
Noto
Nuoro
Olbia
Onzo
Orco Feglino
Oristano
Orta
Ortovero
Orvieto
Osiglia
Ostia Antica
Otranto
Padua
Paestum
Palermo
Pallare
Parco del Cilento
Pavia
Pegli
Perugia
Pesaro
Pescara
Pescasseroli
Peschiera
Piana Crixia
Pienza
Pietra Ligure
Pisa
Plodio
Pompeii
Pompeii
Pontassieve
Pontine islands
Pontinvrea
Porto Cervo
Porto Ferro
Porto Rotondo
Portoferraio
Portofino
Portovenere
Positano
Pratolino
Quiliano
Rapallo
Ravenna
Recco
Rialto
Riccione
Rimini
Riomaggiore
Roccavignale
Salo
San Casciano Val di Pesa
San Gimignano
San Piero a Sieve
SAN SEVERO (71016)
Sanremo
Santa Margherita Ligure
Santa Margherita Ligure
Sassari
Sassello
Saturnia
Scrivia valley
Siena
Siracusa
Sirmione
Sorrento
Stella
Stellanello
Stresa
Stromboli
Su Nuraxi
Subiaco
Sybari's Marine
Taormina
Tarquinia
Tellaro
Termoli
Testico
The Castle above Zuccarello
Tivoli
Toirano
Torsero park
Tovo San Giacomo
Trastevere
Trebbia valley
Tremiti islands
Trento
Trieste
Turin
Tusculum
Udine
Urbe
Vado Ligure
Valpolicella
Vara valley
Varatella valley
Varazze
Vendone
Venice
Ventimiglia
Verona
Vesima
Vezzi Portio
Viareggio
Vicenza
Villanova d'Albenga
Vinci
Viterbo
Vulcano