Other sights in Palermo
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A
Cathedral
The Cathedral is an extraordinary (and enormous) feast of geometric patterns, ziggurat crenulations, majolica cupolas and blind arches. The interior, although impressive in scale, is a marble shell, a sadly un-exotic resting place for the royal Norman tombs. The crypt and treasury contain various jewels belonging to Queen Costanza of Aragón, a bejewelled Norman crown and, most bizarrely, a tooth extracted from Santa Rosalia, Palermo’s patron saint.
reviewed
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B
Teatro Massimo
The grand neoclassical Teatro Massimo took more than 20 years to complete. Nowadays the theatre is an iconic Palermo landmark and has become a symbol of the triumph and tragedy of the city. Appropriately, the closing scene of The Godfather: Part III, with its visually stunning juxtaposition of high culture, low crime, drama and death, was filmed here.
reviewed
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C
Catacombe dei Cappuccini
The morbid Catacombe dei Cappuccini is home to the mummified bodies and skeletons of some 8000 Palermitans who died between the 17th and 19th centuries. Earthly power, sex, religion and professional status are still rigidly distinguished; men and women occupy separate corridors and within the women’s area there’s a 1st-class section for virgins. Dressed in their Sunday best, the corpses’ clothes have survived better than some of the bodies themselves. This is possibly not a place to take the kiddies. From Piazza Independenza, it’s a 15-minute walk; alternatively, catch any bus running along Via Cappuccini to the corner of Via Pindemonte, then walk one block to Piazza Capp…
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D
Palazzo Chiaromonte Steri
The 14th-century Palazzo Chiaromonte Steri has a dark past: in the 17th century it was the headquarters of the Inquisition, where heretics were routinely burnt to death.
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E
Sant’Agostino
Redecorated by the wealthy Scláfani family, the interior sports putti (cherubs) statues by Giacomo Serpotta.
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F
Chiesa della Concezione
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