Palermo

Known as Zyz by the Phoenicians, Panormus by the Romans, with the Arabs, Balaram, the Normans called it Balermus but today it is Palermo. A name that conveys a thousand-year history just by pronouncing it, conjures up traces of different peoples and cultures in the heart and mind.

From the Norman Palace with the Palatine Chapel to the Cathedral, passing through the church of San Cataldo and the Zisa Castle, and arriving at San Giovanni Degli Eremiti; everything seems to evoke a dreamlike dimension that holds, like a trunk full of treasures, the symbolic imagery of the East. The atmosphere is unique and seems to elicit and captivate with their visionary power, the tales of the Thousand and One Nights.

The cradle of the beauty of the Mediterranean, but also a metropolitan city, Palermo is a journey through history and art. The Arab-Norman style crosses the narrow alleys of the historic center, mixed with the flavors and smells of the markets of Ballarò and Capo, adorned in gold and mosaics inside the churches and sacred places.

Palermo is also an ode to life that, with its Baroque influences, expresses its strongest and most true poetic of wonders. One cannot fail to be enchanted by the triumph of polychrome marbles, gilded stuccos, and decorations that cloak the historical houses and monuments of the 17th century with splendor and scenographic drama.

A trip through the streets of the historic center leads to the discovery of monumental churches, such as that of San Domenico, San Giuseppe dei Teatini, or the church of Casa Professa and which winds through the most important oratories, including the oratory of Santa Cita, and which ends in the most suggestive corners of the Cassaro, Porta San Felice and the Quattro Canti districts.

The soul of the Baroque city is felt among the stone-paved streets, it blows among the rustling water of the most extravagant fountains and creeps between the lines of the monumental towers. It guides the impatient eye of those who walk its streets and fascinates with its unique and distinctive identity.

The elegance of the Liberty style denotes one of the most prolific periods of culture and beauty in the history of the capital. A new aesthetic of beauty inspired by nature and its many shades characterizes the finesse of theatres, villas, and bourgeois residences.

Free creativity is expressed in architectural jewels in which curvilinear members form floral ornamentations, wrought iron elements outline the profile of majestic facades, and polychrome windows give life to geometric and floral motifs. Examples of this style: Villa Igea, the Massimo Vittorio Emanuele Theatre with the adjacent kiosks, the Villino Favaloro, the Villino Ida Basile, and the Grand Hotel et des Palmes.

Palermo

Festive Season at Grand Hotel et Des Palmes

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