Consuls. British, R. G. Macbean, Via Francesco Crispi; vice-consul, W. A. Morrison.—United States, H. De Soto, Piazza Castelnuovo 44.—Lloyd’s Agent, E. G. Orr, Piazza Marina.
English Church. Holy Cross (‘Anglicana’; Pl. E, 3, 4), Via Stabile; services every Sun. at 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. in winter.
One Day and a Half is the minimum time for a glance at the sights. 1st. In the forenoon, Cappella Palatina (p. [149]), San Giovanni degli Eremiti (p. [150]); Cathedral (p. [149]), Martorana (p. [150]), Museum (p. [150]); in the afternoon (best in the early morning in summer), Monte Pellegrino (p. [151]); in summer, towards evening, Villa Giulia and the Marina (p. [151]).—2nd. In the forenoon, Monreale (p. [152]).
Palermo, the capital of Sicily, with 250,000 inhab., the seat of an archbishop and a university, lies on the beautiful bay named after it, in the midst of the Conca d’Oro, a fertile plain artificially watered, and yielding oranges, lemons, mandarins, and other fruits in profusion. Palermo is also the chief seaport in the island, whence fruit, wine, sumach, and the sulphur of S. Sicily (79% of the world’s consumption) are largely exported.
The city, the Panormus of antiquity, began its career as a Phœnician colony; it next became the capital of the island under the Carthaginian domination, but was conquered by the Romans in 254 B. C. Next came the Ostrogoths and the Byzantines, who were succeeded by the Aglabides and Fatimites (p. [323]), who again made the town the capital of the island under the name of Balerm, and opened up Sicily to Moorish culture. When Palermo became the residence of its Norman conquerors (1072–1194) they erected castles and churches, partly employing Arabian architects and artificers, whose work shows a charming blend of Byzantine, Arabian, and Oriental features. Later, as the favourite seat of the Hohenstaufen (1194–1266), Palermo attained the zenith of its glory. The old town, however, owes its architectural character to the Spanish viceroys (16–17th cent.), who chose it as their residence in spite of the protests of Messina. Since the union of Sicily with the kingdom of Italy (1860) there has been a great revival of building enterprise, with the result that broad streets and villa-suburbs have sprung up, particularly on the N. side of the old town.
From the Santa Lucia Pier (Pl. G, 4, 5) we enter the old town by the Via Francesco Crispi (Pl. F, E, 4; tramway No. 1, see p. [147]), leading to the old Porta San Giorgio (Pl. E, 4). The Via Cavour diverges here to the right to the old Porta Maqueda (p. [151]); we turn to the left, cross the Piazza del Castello (Pl. D, 5), pass the old Fort Castellammare, and skirt the Cala (p. [147]), or old harbour, a little beyond which is the—
Piazza Marina (Pl. C, 5), where the beautiful *Giardino Garibaldi recalls the tropics with its luxuriant vegetation.
A little to the N.E. of the Giardino is the Porta Felice (Pl. C, 5, 6; p. [151]), from which to the Porta Nuova (Pl. B, 1; p. [150]), over 1 M. distant, runs the Corso Vittorio Emanuele, intersecting the whole of the old town. This long street owes its present form to Don Pedro de Toledo (p. [138]), but having been for centuries the route from the harbour to the castle, it has retained its old popular name of Cássaro (from the Arabic kasr, castle).
At the Quattro Canti (Pl. C, 3), the old business centre of the city, the Corso is crossed by the Via Maqueda (Pl. A-D, 4, 3; p. [151]), begun by the viceroy Marqués de Villena in 1609, and now a second important artery of the old town.
The Corso leads to the Piazza del Duomo, on the N. side of which rises the—