Things to Do in Palermo

La Zisa is yet another remnant of Moorish reign in Sicily. The Norman castle was built in the 12th century, and it's worth a visit although the interior has long since been cleared of its original decoration.

The palace of La Zisa was originally designed as part of an extensive park that served as a royal summer retreat. The grounds were stocked with wild animals (and fenced), giving the royals something to hunt. The park, known as the Genoard, also included another Norman-era palace that still stands in Palermo, La Cuba.

There were architectural alterations made in the 14th century, and by the 16th century the building had fallen into disrepair - it was even being used to store items contaminated with the plague. In the 1970s, city officials in Palermo acquired and began to restore La Zisa, a project that took more than 20 years. Today, the palace houses a Museum of Islamic Art on the second floor. The most impressive room is called the "Fountain Room," a two-storey chamber into which you enter from the main doors, which contains some of its original Moorish decorations.

The Palazzo Mirto in the historic Kalsa district of Palermo is one of the only aristocratic homes from the 17th century that is not only intact but also open to the public.

In the late 18th century, the Palazzo Mirto was built on what was once the foundation of a building dating from the 13th century. The palace was built for a wealthy family as their residence, which is exactly what it was until 1982. At that point, the family that lived there - the Lanza Filangieri family, princes of the nearby town of Mirto - gave the palace to the government of Sicily.

Today, the Palazzo Mirto is kept in the fashion of an 18th or 19th century aristocrat’s home. Many of the palace’s rooms are decorated with furniture and artwork that was originally owned by the Lanza Filangieri family, so in some cases these pieces have occupied the Palazzo Mirto for centuries.

The church known most commonly as “La Martorana” is an architectural example of Sicily’s changing allegiances over the centuries. The facade alone features three different architectural styles.

The Martorana (Santa Maria dell’Ammiraglio is the official name) dates back to 1141. You can no longer see the original Norman facade, but you can still see the typical Norman red dome from the exterior. Thankfully, once you’re inside the church, the original 12th century mosaics still shine in all their Byzantine glory. These mosaics are the highlight of a visit to La Martorana, and if you want to see them at their best, go first thing in the morning.

Back outside the church, you’ll notice that over the old Norman facade there is now a Baroque facade and a Romanesque bell tower. After the church was completed in the mid-12th century, it was later given to a Benedictine nun by the name of Eloisa Martorana - hence the church’s nickname - in the 1190s so she could establish a convent there. The convent flourished through the 19th century, and it was under the direction of the nuns that many of the architectural changes were made. By the early 1900s, the convent was no more - Mussolini gave the church to the Greek Orthodox in Palermo in 1935.

Some Italian piazzas are picturesque squares where locals stroll in the evenings, or watch their children play, or gossip with the neighbors. And sometimes, as is the case with Palermo’s Quattro Canti, they’re busy intersections.

Despite the fact that the Quattro Canti - also known as the Piazza Vigilena - is an intersection that’s often full of cars, it’s still one of the attractions visitors seek out in the city. This is largely because of the four buildings that sit at the four corners of the intersection - “quattro canti” means “four corners” - which are Baroque buildings dating from the early 17th century. The four buildings are almost identical, save for a few details.

Each of the four buildings is slightly curved, giving the piazza a rounded footprint, and there are statues in niches that represent the four seasons, the four Spanish kings of Sicily, and the four patron saints of Palermo. Each building is connected to a different Palermo neighborhood, and the patron saint on that building is the patron of that neighborhood.

Palermo’s beautiful opera house, the Teatro Massimo, is the largest opera house in the entire country. It’s an important landmark in the center of historic Palermo, and even if you don’t like opera you may be familiar with the theater’s imposing front staircase.

The Teatro Massimo was built in the late 1800s, opening in 1897 with a production of “Falstaff” by Giuseppe Verdi. The original plan called for seating for 3,000 in the audience, but the theater seats 1,350 today. There are seven levels of theater boxes in a semi-circle around the seats on the floor, all pointed toward the stage - a design very typical of opera houses at the time. As mentioned, it’s the largest opera house in Italy - and it ranks third in size in Europe.

The regular opera season in the Teatro Massimo excludes the summer, so if you’re visiting in the fall, winter, or early spring you can check with the box office to find out what’s playing and whether there are any seats available. In the summer, there are sometimes smaller orchestral or ballet performances in the Teatro della Verdura in Palermo instead of the Teatro Massimo. Palermo’s grand opera house is open for tours year-round, however. Inquire at the box office inside the main doors.

Palermo’s most famous piazza, the Piazza Pretoria, is just a few steps from the busy Quattro Canti - but a world away in terms of the kind of piazza experience it delivers.

The centerpiece of the Piazza Pretoria is the fountain, known as the Fontana Pretoria. It’s huge, designed in the 1550s by a sculptor from Florence named Camilliani. The fountain was originally commissioned for a private villa in Tuscany, but was gifted to the city of Palermo in 1574. City officials had razed several homes to make way for a grand fountain, meant to show off Palermo’s impressive city plumbing, but locals weren’t quite prepared for the fountain’s decorations when it was unveiled.

There are 16 figures on the Fontana Pretoria, all of which are entirely or partially nude, that circle the fountain. There is no side from which you can simply enjoy the water itself without seeing a nude statue - which many Palermitans in the late 16th century found scandalous. There are two churches facing the Piazza Pretoria - Santa Caterina and San Giuseppe dei Teatini - which may have added to the perceived inappropriate nature of the fountain’s decor.

You might be familiar with the name “Marsala” because of the famous fortified wine that originates in the city - and in fact, one of Marsala’s nicknames is the “Città del Vino,” or city of wine. It would be a shame to get to this city on the western coast of Sicily and not try its namesake wine, but that’s surely not the only reason to visit.

Marsala is a historic port city, the furthest point west on the island of Sicily, and is known for its history, beaches, and, of course, wine. The ancient Roman city that once occupied this spot was one of the most important on the island, thanks to its position as a busy commercial port. Today, while Marsala is still a port city, it’s more of a tourist area than a commercial center.

Things to do and see in Marsala include an archaeological museum, a former Benedictine monastery (which houses a Garibaldi exhibit), the lagoon (popular with windsurfing and kite surfing), and the nearby island of Motya (an archaeological site where an ancient Greek city once stood).

Most people coming to this part of Sicily are likely attracted by the sun, sand, and surf - not to mention the relaxed attitude toward summer. Foodies will be interested in sampling Marsala’s namesake wine. The Marsala that gets exported is a fortified wine, but you’ll find a wider variety of Marsala available in the city itself.

Visitors to Marsala can fly into nearby Trapani and then take the train along the coast (the train from Palermo to Marsala takes more than three hours). If you plan to visit multiple places in Sicily, however, you would benefit from renting a car.