Discover the Charm of Palermo: A 3-Hour UNESCO Sites Walking Tour

The Teatro Massimo Vittorio Emanuele is an opera house and opera company located on the Piazza Verdi in Palermo, Sicily. It was dedicated to King Victor Emanuel II. It is the biggest in Italy, and one of the largest of Europe (at the time of its opening, it was - with its area of 7730 m² - the third largest opera house in Europe after the Palais Garnier in Paris, and the K. K. Hof-Opernhaus in Vienna). It is famous for its perfect acoustics.

The Galleria delle Vittorie (Gallery of the Victory) was built as a commercial mall with an entrance on 301 Via Maqueda in central Palermo, region of Sicily, Italy. The five story structure has deteriorated over the decades, though restoration was attempted.

crossing via Bandiera where there is a typical open-air market

The church of San Domenico, located in the homonymous square that dominates like a majestic queen, in size, historical, cultural and religious importance comes immediately after the Cathedral. Surely it is one of the most beloved churches of Palermo, also because it is considered a “Pantheon of the illustrious men of Sicily”. It is also considered the church symbol of the fight against the mafia.

The market of Piazza Caracciolo winds through alleys and adjacent streets, reflecting the true essence of the city, the energy and dynamism of the cosmopolitan culture of Palermo. Formerly called "la Bucceria" from the French "boucherie", or butcher's shop, since it was initially intended for the sale of meat.

The Garraffo Fountain (Italian: Fontana del Garraffo) is a Baroque fountain of Palermo. It is located in Piazza Marina, down the ancient Cassaro street, now called Via Vittorio Emanuele, within the historic centre of Palermo.

The Palermo Stock Exchange was one of ten active Italian stock exchanges until 1997, when the city's institutions were unified into the single Italian Stock Exchange. Although stockbrokers were already active in the Sicilian capital in 1840, the Palermo Stock Exchange opened trading in 1845. It was the second most important stock exchange in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, after that of Naples. It was based in the city's Palazzo delle Finanze, where it remained for about a century . The Palermo stock exchange was the most important in Sicily; however, she wasn't the only one. In fact, until the First World War, three other stock exchanges were also active on the island: the most important was that of Messina, followed by those of Catania and Agrigento.

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.

Situated over the piazza Bellini, in the middle of Palermo, the church of Santa Maria dell’Ammiraglio is also known as La Martorana, in memory of Goffredo and Eloisa de Marturano, the founders of the nearby Benedictine convent. The church was built in 1143-1185 by the Greek admiral George of Antioch, who wanted to thank the Virgin Mary for her help and protection. George himself decided to assign the church to the Greek-Byzantine clergy who still officiates the ceremonies in ancient Greek or Albanian language (in fact the church belongs to the Eparchy of Piana degli Albanesi of the Italo-Albanian Catholic Church).

Piazza Pretoria is at the limits of the district of Kalsa, near the corner of Cassaro with Via Maqueda, just a few meters from the Quattro Canti, the intersection where all the four ancient quarters intersect, in the city of Palermo, region of Sicily, Italy. The fountain was created for the garden of don Luigi de Toledo in Florence. Previously the plot of this piazza in Palermo was a garden that belonged to the nuns of San Domenico al Maglio and, after a lot of pressure, was obtained in 1551. Subsequently, in 1584, the Palazzo di San Clemente was built near this site. The creation of this unusual garden (devoid of palaces) and of the fountain was commissioned to the Florentine sculptor Francesco Camilliani, student of Baccio Bandinelli.

“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 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.

Built in 1905 by the mayor Bonanno, who named it Villa Bonanno, is a magnificent garden always open, located in Victory Square, behind the Palace of the Normans. In the garden - planted with palm trees - are visible statues and busts of famous people of Palermo. Also in the garden, were found the remains of Roman patrician houses with mosaics: notable are the mosaics of the seasons and Orpheus, now kept in the National Archaeological Museum. Adjacent to the villa is the fountain with its monument to Philip V, a work of nineteenth-century made by Nuncio Morello. It seems that the fountain was designed in 1661 by Carlo d'Aprile, with the participation of the Serpotta.

The Palazzo Reale (Royal Palace) in Palermo, also known as the Palazzo dei Normanni (Palace of the Normans), is one of the most extraordinary buildings in Sicily. It chronicles the history of Palermo from the first Punic settlements to the present day. One of the many halls and rooms that can be visited is the Cappella Palatina (Palatine Chapel). Its sumptuous decoration is a veritable manifesto of Arab-Norman art and it has been a World Heritage Site since 2015. The ancient Torre Pisana houses the Palermo Astronomical Observatory and the Specola Museum, while temporary exhibitions are often held in the Sale del Duca di Montalto (Duke of Montalto Halls).