Must-see attractions in Palermo

Designed by Roger II in 1130, this extraordinary chapel is Palermo's top tourist attraction. Located on the middle level of Palazzo dei Normanni's three…

Home to Sicily's regional parliament, this venerable palace dates back to the 9th century. However, it owes its current look (and name) to a major Norman…

A feast of geometric patterns, ziggurat crenellations, maiolica cupolas and blind arches, Palermo's cathedral has suffered aesthetically from multiple…

Housed in the stately 15th-century Palazzo Abatellis, this art museum – widely regarded as Palermo's best – showcases works by Sicilian artists dating…

Built as a hospice in the early 14th century and transformed into a Dominican convent the following century, this monastic complex wows with its…

Taking over 20 years to complete, Palermo's neoclassical opera house is the largest in Italy and the second-largest in Europe. The closing scene of The…

Snaking for several city blocks southeast of Palazzo dei Normanni is Palermo's busiest street market, which throbs with activity well into the early…

Once a retreat for King Ferdinand IV and his wife Maria Carolina, this pagoda-inspired pavilion exemplifies the popularity of 'Oriental exotica' in 18th…

Elegant 18th-century Villa Zito houses a sharply curated collection of mainly Sicilian-themed art spanning the 17th to 20th centuries. You'll find a…

On the southern side of Piazza Bellini, this luminously beautiful 12th-century church was endowed by King Roger's Syrian emir, George of Antioch, and was…

Situated in a Renaissance monastery, this splendid, wheelchair-accessible museum houses some of Sicily's most valuable Greek and Roman artefacts,…

Housed in the lower floors and basements of 14th-century Palazzo Chiaromonte Steri, this fascinating museum explores the legacy of the Inquisition in…

This 17th-century chapel showcases the breathtaking stuccowork of Giacomo Serpotta, who famously introduced rococo to Sicilian churches. Note the…

The late-16th-century Oratory of St Lawrence features glorious stuccowork by master rococo sculptor Giacomo Serpotta. Capturing scenes from the lives of…

In the southwestern corner of the Quattro Canti is this 17th-century church, topped by an elegant cupola designed by Giuseppe Mariani and flanked by the…

Fringed by imposing churches and buildings, Piazza Pretoria is dominated by the over-the-top Fontana Pretoria, one of Palermo's major landmarks. The…

Laid out by Léon Dufourny and Venanzio Marvuglia, this raffish, subtropical paradise shelters massive fig trees, tall palms and dazzling hibiscus bushes,…

These catacombs house the mummified bodies and skeletons of some 8000 Palermitans who died between the 17th and 19th centuries. Earthly power, gender,…

Officially titled Piazza Vigliena, the elegant intersection of Corso Vittorio Emanuele and Via Maqueda is better known as the Quattro Canti. Marking the…

This lovely, wheelchair-accessible museum is housed in a 15th-century palazzo, which metamorphosed into a convent in the 17th century. Divided over three…