Sicily

Sultry, edgy, noisy and chaotic, Palermo reveals the key periods of its foreign occupation. At its historic centre, the Quattro Canti, is a baroque intersection delineating the original four quarters of Albergheria, Capo, Vucciria and La Kalsa, which were all, 400 years ago, separate entities. Wander into any one of the quarters – Albergheria and Vucciria have lively markets little changed in a century – and you’ll find yourself in a warren of narrow streets and alleyways that might throw up a prewar barbers’ shop, a baroque church or a grandiose piazza. The Quattro Canti intersection is partly formed by via Maqueda, which passes theTeatro Massimo opera house (piazza Verdi, +39 091 605 3555, www.teatromassimo.it), a cultural icon of late 19th-century Palermo and the third largest opera house in Europe.

The east-west axis is created by corso Vittorio Emanuele, at the end of which stand two must-see attractions: the Cappella Palatina at the Palazzo Reale and the cathedral. The Palazzo Reale or Palazzo dei Normanni (piazza Indipendenza, +39 091 705 7003) was one of the finest courts of medieval Europe. Adapted by the forward-looking Normans from the original Saracen palace, its highlight is the Cappella Palatina. Built between 1132 and 1143, its intricate interior is an excellent example of combined Arab-Norman craftsmanship, seen in the richly carved ceiling and the patterned marble floor. The period saw multiracial medieval Palermo flourish. The monarchs of the day lie buried in the nearby cathedral, a hotchpotch of styles and additions to the 12th-century Norman original.

Palermo sits in a crescent-shaped bay, at the foot of Monte Pelegrino. Seven miles along the Tyrrhenian coast, the belle époque seaside resort of Mondello beckons locals with its long, sandy beach, water sports and nightspots. A former fishing village, it was a Riviera for the well-to-do until the war. Today all of Palermo heads there in summer.

Perhaps a less crowded but equally accessible tourist attraction is Monreale, a medieval hilltop town with a Norman cathedral and stunning Byzantine mosaic interior.

Local history

Palermo was a Phoenician trading post from the eighth century BC, around the same time as the Ancient Greeks were colonising Sicily. After the Romans and the Arabs, the Normans came and built fabulous Byzantine churches, followed by the Swabians then the Bourbons. Palermo thrived after Italian unification but the 20th century saw poverty, wartime bombardment, corruption and mafia neglect. Local government is under pressure to redress the balance.

Local politics

The regional elections of late May 2006 saw a centre-left revival across southern Italy, part of a wider call for ethical politics and justice. Although Sicily voted in the right-wing Salvatore Cuffaro, and the current Palermo mayor is Diego Cammarata of the Forza Italia party, Sicilians realise they must put the past behind them if they are going to progress as part of modern European democracy. Cammarata is first focusing on the Castellammare-Tribunali quarter east of via Maqueda as the first to undergo what is hoped to be a city-wide urban renewal project.