Sicily’s capital, Palermo, was once the greatest city in Europe. Its charms have tempted Mediterranean conquerors like the Greeks, Romans, Vandals, Arabs, Normans, Swabians, and Bourbons. In fact, Palermo might be the most conquered city in the world.From the 9th to 12th centuries it was famed for its wealth and as a center of learning.In the 12th century Roger II built the Royal Palace,and today its chapel remains the most magnificent example of medieval art in Palermo. Its grandeur impressed General George S. Patton so much that in 1943 he installed his headquarters in the Royal Palace.

Palermo (Sicilian: Palermu, Greek: Panormus) is a historic city in Southern Italy, the capital of the autonomous region Sicily and theProvince of Palermo. The city is noted for its rich history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old. Palermo is located in the north west of the island of Sicily, right by the Gulf of Palermo in theTyrrhenian Sea.

The city was founded by the Phoenicians, but named by the Ancient Greeks as Panormus meaning all port. Palermo became part of theRoman Republic and eventually part of the Byzantine Empire, for over a thousand years. For a brief period it was under Arab rule where it first became a capital. Following the Norman reconquest, Palermo would become capital of a new kingdom from 1130 to 1816 theKingdom of Sicily. Eventually it would be united with the Kingdom of Naples to form the Two Sicilies until the Italian unification of 1860.

The population of the Palermo urban area is estimated by Eurostat to be 855,285, while its metropolitan area is the fifth most populated in Italy with around 1.2 million people. In the central area, the city itself has a population of around 670 thousand people, the inhabitants are known as Palermitans or poetically panormiti, the languages spoken by its inhabitants are the Italian language and the Sicilian language.

The religion of Roman Catholicism is highly important in Palermitan culture, the patron saint of the city is Saint Rosalia, her feast day on July 15 is perhaps the biggest social event in the city. The area attracts significant amounts of tourists each year and is widely known for its colourful fruit, vegetable and fish market at the heart of Palermo known as the Vucciria.