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Ten reasons to add Palermo, Italy’s cultural capital, to your 2018 bucket list

Palermo is Italy's Capital of Culture for 2018, and there are plenty of reasons to visit the Sicilian city.

Published: 6 February 2017 08:22 CET
Updated: 9 January 2018 09:11 CET

Ten reasons to add Palermo, Italy's cultural capital, to your 2018 bucket list

Palermo has just been named Italy's new Capital of Culture. Photo: Massimo Frasson/Flickr

When the city was awarded the 2018 Capital of Culture title, its mayor said “we have all won”. He added that the most important aspect of the city's culture was its “culture of welcome”, referring to Palermo's efforts in assisting the thousands of migrants who have arrived at its port over the past few years, and this is the context in which most visitors are likely to have heard about the Sicilian capital.

But there's more to Palermo than its ports, and plenty of treasures await visitors. So here are ten reasons to head south and visit the city, which will host special events and exhibitions throughout the year.

Rich history

This could be said of most of Italy, it's true, but what's great about Palermo is the way in which so many different nations and cultures have left a mark on the city. Its strategic military and trading position attracted invaders from around the world, including the the Carthaginians, the Greeks, the Romans, the Normans, the Swabians, the French and the Spanish Bourbons, to name just a few.

Each group had an impact on the city's architecture, language and art, meaning the city's cultural sights are wonderfully varied and it's fascinating to see how each of these different cultures interacted. The Spanish invaders, for example, named one of the squares Piazza Pretoria (Square of Shame) due to the nude 16th-century statues of mermaids and nymphs – the name also refers to perceived corruption of city authorities.

The gorgeous Palatine Chapel. Photo: Dimitry B/Flickr

Churches

The mixture of Western, Islamic and Byzantine styles is the reason many of the region's churches have been granted Unesco World Heritage status, and lots of them are free to visit. Make the stunning Palatine Chapel (above) the first stop on your tour to see the ornate mosaics, and include a stop at the cathedral (below). There's also 'the Church that isn't there', the name given by locals to the ruined Santa Maria dello Spasimo, which today is used for concerts.

The city's cathedral. Photo: Mauro/Flickr

Authentic Italy

Are you the kind of visitor who turns up your nose at tourist buses, or perhaps you just don't want to battle with the crowds at the Colosseum or Pantheon? Despite its beauty, Palermo is much less well known than the likes of Rome, Venice and Florence, meaning you'll often be forced to practise your Italian.

Photo: Sanna Stefansson/Flickr

The markets

Remember what we said about Palermo's importance as a trading centre? That spirit still lives on in the city's lively markets, Vucciria (meaning 'chatter' or 'hubbub' – just follow the noise and you'll find it), Ballarò and Capo, where you can buy cheap food, vegetables and even cheap vintage clothes, all while inhaling the scents of flowers and spices and taking in the bright colours.

Photo: Manuel/Flickr

Botanic gardens

Italy's largest botanic gardens can be found in Palermo. Explore all 25 acres of the Orto Botanico – even in the chillier months of the year, the Winter Garden greenhouses are beautiful. More green spaces can be found at Villa Giulia by the seafront, a 19th-century landscaped park, the Villa Bonanno, which has striking palm trees, and the Giardino Inglese in the city centre, which is a perfect spot for people-watching as workers gather there during the long Italian lunch break.

The Botanic Gardens. Photo: Harvey Barrison/Flickr

Pastries

One delicious reason to visit the Sicilian capital is the food, so do as the locals do and start your day with a coffee and a pastry. The local specialities include both sweet and savoury treats, from cannoli (crispy cream-filled pastry shells) to sfincioni (a variation on foccaccia) to arancini (breaded rice balls), so make sure to try out a few different bakeries as you wander round the town.

Sicilian cannoli and other delights. Photo: Claudio Lungo/Flickr

Creepy Catacombs

If you like your holidays with a macarbre twist, head to the Catacombe dei Cappuccini to see the mummified remains of the 16th-century Capuchin monks and other locals who asked to be buried in their crypt – it became a bit of a status symbol. Years ago, families would visit the catacombs to pray with their deceased loved ones, and there are thousands of bodies there, in different states of preservation, and some set in particular poses.

The catacombs. Photo: Juan Antonio F Segal

Beaches

On a brighter note, the warm weather and gorgeous coastline are the main reason most tourists flock to Sicily, and many of the island's most beautiful beaches are just a short way from Palermo. Mondello beach – which you'd never guess was a former swampland – is the closest to the city centre and the largest in the area, while the quiet Arenella beach is in the very heart of the city but rarely busy.

Photo: Dennis Jarvis/Flickr

Great day trips

As Sicily's capital, Palermo is the island's main travel hub, and you can explore the region by hopping on a train at the central station to explore the quaint towns and villages dotted around the coast, or head to one of the island's cultural treasure troves, Cefalu, Messina, or Taormina. Alternatively, take the ferry to Naples, Sardinia or Genova, or a long-distance train to mainland Italy to extend your trip.

Stunning Taormina. Photo: Gnuckx/Flickr

Off the beaten track

Palermo is small enough to explore on foot, meaning you can take plenty of detours to duck down sidestreets and take a closer look at curiosities you pass on the way. There are no shortage of quirky sights in Palermo, for example the firefighters' headquarters, a striking example of fascist-era art deco design tucked in amongst ancient buildings. Make sure you take the hike (or the bus, for a more relaxed journey) to the Sanctuary of Santa Rosilia, a church and convent carved into a cave at the top of a hill.

Piazza Pretoria in the centre of the city. Photo: CucombroLibre/Flickr

Want more tips on exploring Italy? Check out our travel section for the latest guides, features and travel news.

A version of this article was first published in February 2017.

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Ice to AC: Nine of the most common American misconceptions about Italy

It’s no secret that Americans love to visit Italy; the Washington Post predicted in December that the country would be Americans’ top foreign tourist destination for 2023, and the volume of US visitors who’ve arrived in Italy since then appears to have borne this out.

But while many Americans have a deep knowledge of – and love for – Italian culture, there are some surprisingly enduring myths about Italy that can be found in the USA specifically.

Some come close to the truth, while others fall wide of the mark.

There is no ice in Europe/Italian restaurants charge for ice

Fiction – Americans love ice, beverages are routinely served with it and refrigerators in the US often have some type of ice dispenser attached to the door.

But in Italy, ice is simply less prioritised. While ice in your drink will usually not cost you extra, you might need to specifically request it. Soft drinks in Italy are usually served without ice, so if you want your beverage iced, you need to request the drink con ghiaccio – with ice.

A classic Italian spritz should always come with ice. Photo by Tomasz Rynkiewicz on Unsplash

Italian homes don’t have dryers

Fact (mostly) – Tumble dryers do exist in Italy, but they’re rare. A survey published by Italy’s national statistics office (Istat) in 2014 found that just 3.3 percent of Italian households had one, whereas 96.2 percent had a washing machine and 39.3 percent a dishwasher.

Those washing lines strung with laundry hanging above the heads of passers by aren’t there just to create a quaint backdrop for photos – people make wide use of the abundant sun to air dry their clothes and sheets.

That does not mean that Italians in cities don’t occasionally use clothes dryers though if they’re in a rush; some might take items to a nearby laundromat.

McDonald’s is healthier in Italy

Fact (sort of) – McDonald’s uses different ingredients based on the country, and the Big Mac in Italy is (slightly) healthier than the one sold in the United States. It is slightly less calorific, with 509 kCal in contrast to the American Big Mac’s 540 kCal per 100g.

The Italian Big Mac also has less salt and fat, but it does not compare to the world’s healthiest Big Mac (found in Israel).

McDonald’s in Italy also uses EU-sourced ingredients, and the EU restricts the usage of additives and growth hormones. For example Azodicarbonamide which is used to bleach flour, is banned in the EU, but not in the United States, where McDonald’s was still using it as of 2016.

It is true, however, that you can buy beer in McDonald’s in Italy.

McDonald’s burgers are marginally healthy in Italy compared to the US. Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash

Italians drive small cars

Fiction (increasingly) – Think of Italian cars, and you might picture a classic Fiat 500 puttering around picturesque cobbled streets – but that’s all changing.

2021 was a historic year for the Italian automotive industry: the sale of SUVs surpassed those of medium-sized sedans for the first time, claiming 48 percent of the market share compared to the sedan’s 45 percent.

That may not match the US, where SUVs and pick-up trucks currently account for around 73 percent of vehicles sold, but it’s a huge increase from 2012, when SUVs made up just 17 percent of vehicle sales in Italy.

There are no free public toilets

Fact (mostly) – You will occasionally find an Italian town or city that offers some free public toilets. For the most part though, you’ll have to pay, including in train stations – and even paid public toilets are few and fair between.

Instead, you’re better off heading to one of the many caffe-bars found all over the country and paying for a euro for a bottle of water or a coffee so you can use their facilities – if you ask nicely, you might even be allowed to go for free.

Metro stations, supermarkets and grocery stores tend to not have any toilets at all, and neither will most clothing stores. One place you will find plenty of free public bathrooms, though, is a motorway service station.

Something that strikes many visitors to Italy as odd is the lack of seats on public toilets. Exactly why this is the case is debated, but there’s a general consensus that the phenomenon has rapidly accelerated in the past couple of decades.

A street sign at an antiques fair in Turin. Free toilets in Italy are few and far between. Photo by rashid khreiss on Unsplash

Italy doesn’t have air conditioning

Fact (sort of) – There’s not no air conditioning in Italy – in fact data from Italy’s national statistics office showed that one in two Italian households had AC in 2021.

It’s far less popular than in the US, though, where 90 percent of households have air conditioning. There’s still not much of a culture of AC in Italy, where many believe it will give you a colpo d’aria leading to at best a sore neck and at worst pneumonia – so even households that have a unit tend to use it sparingly.

If your hotel or Airbnb doesn’t specifically mention AC, you can assume it doesn’t have it.

Coca-Cola tastes different in Italy

Fact – While Coke is available almost everywhere in the world, the actual ingredients in Coca-Cola are different in some countries, which could lead some Coke connoisseurs to notice a difference in taste between the products in the US and those in the EU.

The biggest difference is the regular Coke – in the US this uses high fructose corn syrup while in Europe cane sugar is used to sweeten the product, resulting in a significant difference in taste.

You’re much more likely in Italy to come across Coca Zero, the zero-sugar version of Coca-Cola, than Coca-Coca Light, the European version of Diet Coke, which has always been hard to find and which some online sources say Italy stopped distributing altogether in 2022.

Coke in the US: different to its European counterparts. Photo by Cody Engel on Unsplash

You don’t need to tip

Fact – It’s not necessary to tip after a restaurant meal in Italy. However, this is a matter of personal choice and you are free to do so (tipping certainly won’t cause upset).

Diners do often leave some change after a particularly enjoyable meal. In terms of how much to give, some people round up a bill to include a tip, while others give what spare change they have.

Some people may also opt to tip other professionals as well, such as taxi drivers and cleaners, but again – this is optional and typically not a large quantity. In some apartment buildings, residents may give a Christmas card with money inside to the portiere (doorman) as a kind of annual tip.

All cars are stick shift

Mostly fact – In the United States, stick shift vehicles are becoming a thing of the past, but in Italy they are still very much being bought and driven.

As of 2018, around 20 percent of new cars sold in Italy were automatic – which is much higher than the less-than-one percent sold in the 1980s, but still a lot less than the US’s figure of 96 percent.

That said, around 70 percent of SUVs sold in Italy use automatic transition, so with the popularity of these larger vehicles on the rise, you can expect to see more automatics on Italian roads in the future.

What do you think? Have you noticed any other common beliefs or misconceptions about Italy in the US, or elsewhere? We’d love to hear from you in the comments section below.

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