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 Niscemi's
Cave and Addaura Cavern, in the cliffs of Mount Pellegrino, were both
inhabited in middle neolithic times and boast some remarkable wall drawings.
This was the dawn of European prehistory. Palermo's recorded history begins
four millennia later. Founded by the Phoenicians, who named it Ziz, Palermo
was settled in the eighth century BC as a port. Its development paralleled
that of Solunto and Motia. Archeologists generally agree that the Phoenicians
were compelled to develop these cities because they were forced out of
eastern Sicily by the Greeks, but this civilization's presence in western
Sicily seemed inevitable. The Greeks called the city Panormos, meaning
"all port." The Latin name, still used in Catholic Church documents well
into the nineteenth century, was Panormus. The Phoenicians' descendants
and successors, the Carthaginians, made Panormus a
centre of commerce,
and it was their base port, in 480 BC, for the navy that was defeated
in the Battle of Himera.
In 276 BC, Panormus finally fell to the Greeks. The Punic Wars followed,
and the city was part of the Roman Empire from 253 BC. Phoenician and
Roman Palermo extended from the port area along what is now Corso Vittorio
Emanuele to Corso Calatafimi in the area beyond the Royal Palace (viewed
from a distance in this photo of the Monastery of Saint John of the Hermits).
The Palaeo-Christian era left several early churches in the city. Its earliest
faith was Orthodoxy. Panormus was part of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine)
Empire from 535 until 831, when it fell to the invading Saracen Arabs
("Moors"), who turned many of the churches into mosques. Thus began the
reign of the Aghlabid dynasty of what is now Tunisia. From 948, as Bal'harm,
it was the capital of the Emirate of Sicily of the Kalbite dynasty, and
it is from that date that Palermo may be considered to have been the royal
capital of Sicily. The Arabs brought the lemon and the orange, and the
cultivation of mulberry trees, dates, cotton and hard wheat. They introduced
innovative irrigation systems and a novel system of aqueducts.
 Palermo
became one of the Muslim world's most splendid cities, surpassed only
by Baghdad. In stark contrast to the Normans' conquest of England, the
Sicilian conquest was long and difficult. Only in 1071, six years after
they had landed at Messina, did the Normans, led by Robert "Guiscard"
de Hauteville, capture Palermo, and then after a five-month siege. Numbering
perhaps as many as a hundred thousand, the residents (Palermitans) of
this medieval metropolis were Muslims, Christians and Jews from every
part of Sicily and every part of the Mediterranean. The island was the
place where east met west, and north met south. In the decades to come,
Palermo flourished as the wealthiest city of Europe. From the eleventh
century onward, the history of Palermo is largely the history of Sicily.
Despite brief periods of competition from Messina and then Catania, it
was the seat of the island's government. By the nineteenth century, Palermo
had become the place of residence of most of western Sicily's nobility.
Its splendid palazzi are their legacy. For Visitors: As Sicily's largest
and most cosmopolitan city, Palermo offers great dining as well as excellent
shopping. Though there are good restaurants throughout Palermo, they're
not easy to find. In general, we suggest that you try the ones on side
streets instead of those near the port (on Via Amari and Via Cavour),
which might be described as "tourist restaurants." (A number of Palermitan
restaurants are listed and reviewed on our special page dedicated to Palermo's
Best Restaurants, which also translates Sicilian culinary terms.) There
are some very good restaurants and pizzerias on both sides of Piazza Marina.
A few steps away, in Cortile della Gancia, a tiny courtyard near the main
entrance of the Gancia Church off Via Alloro, you'll find Il Portoncino,
a charming little restaurant that serves a variety of Sicilian dishes
and pizza.
 On
Via Chiavettieri, a small street off Corso Vittorio Emanuele near Piazza
Marina, is Ristorante a' Vucciria. In Piazza San Francesco d'Assisi there's
a nice café, with table service on Summer evenings. In the same piazza
there's a restaurant, the Antica Focacceria, which serves simple Sicilian
specialties at lunchtime. There are also some good restaurants near the
Teatro Massimo in the triangle formed by Piazza Ungheria, Via Pignatelli
Aragona and Via Ruggero Settimo. One of the city's best restaurants, Cucina
Papoff, is near the Politeama Theatre on Via La Lumia near Via Libertà.
Le Volte, on Via Agrigento 12, is one of Palermo's many moderately priced
restaurants that offer fine local cuisine. There are also some fine restaurants
on the edge of town. La Scuderia (on Via del Fante near the stadium beneath
Mount Pellegrino) is good, though somewhat lacking in atmosphere. U'Strascinu,
on Via Regione Siciliana near the Holiday Inn, is on the periphery of
the city but offers a tempting buffet surrounded by traditional Sicilian
folk art. Throughout Palermo, there are excellent pastry shops and "bars"
that serve ice creams, pastries and, during Summer months, granita (flavored
ices). If you want to sample these tempting delights in a leisurely setting,
we suggest the charming outdoor cafés on Via Principe di Belmonte, which
runs from Via Maqueda to Via Roma near the Politeama Theatre. Located
in the city's best shopping district, Via Belmonte is closed to traffic,
making it Palermo's answer to Rome's Piazza di Spagna or Via Condotti.
The city doesn't only offer great cuisine and fascinating history. Palermo
also has some very good shopping, and many of the better shops are conveniently
located in the city's centre around Via Maqueda and Via Libertà, especially
on the side streets, where you'll find shops that sell everything from
antiques to Sicilian-made specialty goods like ceramic items and original
jewelry.
Text
Copyright 2001
http://www.bestofsicily.com Used by permission.
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