Castello della Zisa

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  • Address
    Piazza Zisa, W Palermo
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  • Phone
    091 652 02 69

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Lonely Planet review

A short bus or car journey southwest from Piazza Castelnuovo leads to Castello della Zisa, one of the only remaining monuments to the decadence of Moorish Palermo. With muqarnas vaults, latticework windows, fountains and even a wind chamber to protect the emir's family from the scirocco (the hot African wind), the villa deserves its name which comes from the Arabic al aziz, meaning 'magnificent'.

Today it houses a museum of Arabic crafts, the main features of which are some superbly crafted screens and a gorgeous 12th- century bronze basin. Take bus 124 from Piazza Ruggero Settimo.