The sculpture of the Genius of Palermo is located in the Praetorian Palace. It was probably part of a complex, possibly a fountain in the Praetorian Palace commissioned by the praetor Pietro Speciale and made by Domenico Gagini and Gabriele di Battista. The Genius appears as a bearded man with a cro...

In 1655, in the midst of the Baroque age, Father Giuseppe Mazara of the Society of Jesus defined Palermo as the "Conca di Tiro" (Tyre Basin), referring to the Latin word "conca", meaning shell, and linking it to the Phoenicians. The Tyrian settlers were masters of the extraction and processing of pu...

There are several interpretations of the origin of the name "Conca d'oro". It could indicate the natural characteristics of the area, i.e. the thesaurus naturae, or the auriferous sands of the Oreto river, whose etymology seems to be linked to gold. According to this interpretation Conca d'oro deriv...

In the 12th century, the pseudo-Ugo Falcando described Palermo's fertile plain and its products. He focuses on fruit trees, mentioning the sharp and sweet pomegranates, citrons, oranges and lemons. Lemons, a citrus fruit of delicate flagrancy, are reminiscent of the island's scent and of a grandiose...

The Greek and later Latin name for Palermo is Panormos/Panorums. The word could have several meanings. From the Greek pan-hormos, meaning “all moored”, it indicates a harbour with a deep anchorage or, more likely, it derives from the Greek hormos meaning “necklace”. This hypothesis is confir...

The Arab geographer Al-Idrīsī (Latinized Edrisi) was called to Palermo in 1145 by Roger II to write the famous Book of Roger and to work on the development of a 70-sheet world map called the Tabula Rogeriana. The original Tabula was made of silver. The manuscript, known as Kitāb Rugiār in Arabic...

During the Islamic domination, Bishop Nicodemus kept the Greek episcopal tradition alive in Palermo. The bishop moved to the Church of Santa Domenica Ciriaca, in the Monreale area, which became the last Christian stronghold. When the Normans arrived, Nicodemus was brought back to Palermo to convert ...

The Norman kingdom of Sicily was born with Roger II of Hauteville on 25 December 1130, when he was crowned King of Sicily, Apulia, Calabria and Capua in the city of Palermo. From this moment on, the city of Palermo had three titles: Prima Sedes, Corona Regis et Regni Caput, i.e. the first seat of th...

Byzantine art, which was developed from the 4th to the 16th century A.D., is characterised by a style that takes Hellenistic-Roman art and enriches it with oriental stylistic elements, typical of Asia Minor. If architecture has majestic and solemn churches, usually in the shape of a Greek cross, fig...

Byzantine art, which was developed from the 4th to the 16th century A.D., is characterised by a style that takes Hellenistic-Roman art and enriches it with oriental stylistic elements, typical of Asia Minor. If architecture has majestic and solemn churches, usually in the shape of a Greek cross, fig...