Things to Do in Palermo

The imposing Politeama Garibaldi Theater overlooks Palermo’s Piazza Ruggero Settimo with its triumphal arch entrance. It was built in the late 19th century, and today is home to the Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana.

The word “politeama” comes from Greek and refers to the theater being built for multiple purposes, since Palermo already had a grand opera house in the Teatro Massimo. It’s primarily known for the Orchestra, however, and looks every bit inside like the classic Italian theater it is.

The theater itself is all red velvet and gold, with two levels of theater boxes lining the semi-circular main seating area. Two rows of columns ring the outside of the circular building, meeting at the triumphal arch at the entrance. Even the theater’s curtain at the front of the stage is a work of art, depicting a scene from Greek mythology painted in 1891.

Some Palermo tours include visits inside the Politeama Garibaldi Theater, and hop-on hop-off bus tours through the city stop nearby if you want to visit on your own.

One of the most famous sights in Palermo—albeit a rather macabre one—is the extensive network of catacombs under the city’s historic Capuchin Monastery. The subterranean Capuchin Catacombs (Catacombe dei Cappuccini) are home to thousands of mummified remains in varying states of preservation dating from the 16th to 20th centuries.

One of the cultural traditions of Sicily is a type of puppet show in which rod marionettes are used to enact legendary tales of knights, pirates, and saints. This type of puppet show - or “Opera dei Pupi” - was even added to UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2008.

The tradition of Opera dei Pupi in Sicily became popular in the early 19th century, though some of the stories enacted by the marionettes date back to the 12th century. When these marionette shows were at their peak, there were traveling stages in Sicily that were built into donkey carts. There were often multiple backdrops of elaborately painted sets, and the marionettes themselves were all hand carved out of wood.

Today, there are still a few places you can see the Opera dei Pupi in Sicily, where they carry on the old marionette theater tradition, but the era of these theaters being family-run operations with the skills being passed from generation to generation are long gone.

Often called the Casa Professa, the Church of the Gesù (Chiesa del Gesù) is one of the most important Baroque churches in Sicily with a deeply intricate and ornate interior. Highlights include colorful frescoes, intricate stone carvings, and 18th-century marble reliefs depicting the Adoration of the Magi, all hidden away behind an unassuming facade.

Zisa Castle (Castello della 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 imposing Chiaramonte-Steri Palace (Palazzo Chiaramonte-Steri) sits at one side of the Piazza Marina, today home to the administrative offices of the University of Palermo, was once a fortified private home.

The palace was built in 1307 as the private home of the Chiaramonte family. The most notable interior decorations, however, were added later in the 14th century. In particular, the Grand Hall has a huge painted wooden ceiling. The scenes captured by artists include some Biblical stories, some from mythology, and others.

After the palace was no longer a private home, it was used as a prison by the Spanish Inquisition (there are small cells with anguished graffiti on the walls), and later as Palermo’s courthouse. Today, part of the palace is where the city’s university is headquartered, though much of the building is also a popular attraction for visitors.

The Mirto Palace House Museum (Palazzo Mirto Casa Museo) 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 dramatic mountain peaks towering over Palermo along the northwestern coast of Sicily are the first thing that strikes visitors arriving at the city’s Palermo Cruise Port (Terminal Crociere di Palermo)—but there’s more to this destination than spectacular views. Famous for its cuisine, ceramics, and architecture, historic and happening Palermo is a highlight of any Mediterranean cruise.

Overlooking the Golden Valley (Conca d’Oro) on top of Mons Regalis, the medieval village of Monreale earns a spot on the travel map for its magnificent mosaic-filled cathedral, built by William II and completed in 1184. The grand Duomo, considered to be one of the best examples of Norman architecture in Sicily, is filled with mosaics depicting scenes from the Old Testament, covering some 68,889 square feet (6,400 square meters) of the interior.

Beside the cathedral is the abbey cloister, built around the same time as the church and expanded in the 1300s. This portion of the structure is best known for its 200-plus intricate double columns decorated in glass mosaic. Each column’s capital depicts a different aspect of medieval Sicily.

Having reopened in 2012, the 16th-century Branciforte Palace (Palazzo Branciforte) underwent a dramatic makeover courtesy of Italian architect and designer Gae Aulenti. Transformed from a lavish historic residence into a cultural center and museum of art and history, the palace is equally renowned for its impressively restored architecture as it is for its fascinating exhibitions.

Visitors can admire the vast archaeological collection, which includes exquisite frescoes, ancient coins, fine sculptures, and majolica ceramics; browse the a huge historical library, home to over 40,000 books; attend a cooking class at the Gambero Rosso cooking school; or marvel at the beautifully preserved wooden architecture of the Monte di Santa Rosalia, where temporary art exhibitions are held.