Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The flip side is the modern city, a mere 15-minute stroll away, parts of which could be
neatly jigsawed and slotted into Paris, with a grid system of wide avenues lined by seduct-
ive shops and handsome 19th-century apartments.
Sights
Via Maqueda is the main street, running north from the train station, changing names to
Via Ruggero Settimo as it passes the landmark Teatro Massimo, then finally widening into
leafy Viale della Libertà north of Piazza Castelnuovo, the beginning of the city's modern
district.
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Around the Quattro Canti
The busy intersection of Corso Vittorio Emanuele and Via Maqueda is known as the Quat-
tro Canti . Forming the civic heart of Palermo, this crossroad divides the historic nucleus in-
to four traditional quarters - Albergheria, Capo, Vucciria and La Kalsa.
La Martorana
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CHURCH
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(Chiesa di Santa Maria dell'Ammiraglio; Piazza Bellini 3; donation requested; 8.30am-1pm & 3.30-5.30pm Mon-
Sat, 8.30am-1pm Sun) On the southern side of Piazza Bellini, this luminously beautiful, re-
cently restored 12th- century church was endowed by King Roger's Syrian emir, George
of Antioch, and was originally planned as a mosque. Delicate Fatimid pillars support a
domed cupola that depicts Christ enthroned amid his archangels. The interior is best ap-
preciated in the morning, when sunlight illuminates magnificent Byzantine mosaics.
Chiesa Capitolare di San Cataldo
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(Piazza Bellini 3; admission €2.50; 9.30am-12.30pm & 3-6pm) This 12th-century church in Arab-
Norman style is one of Palermo's most striking buildings. With its dusky-pink bijoux
domes, solid square shape, blind arcading and delicate tracery, it illustrates perfectly the
synthesis of Arab and Norman architectural styles. The interior, while more austere, is still
beautiful, with its inlaid floor and lovely stone-and-brickwork in the arches and domes.
CHURCH
 
 
 
 
 
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