Palermo

Panormous (from the Greek “all port”) was founded by the Phoenicians in the seventh century BC on an already densely populated place, thanks to its mite climate and fertile soil.

In 254 BC it was conquered by the Romans, few traces are found of these in the city.

His golden age begins under the Arab domination (VIV century), when Balarm became one of the main Islamic centers in the West.

As the city expanded, there were new neighborhoods, such as the Kalsa, a fortified neighborhood on the sea and the residence of the emir.

In 1072 the city fell into the hands of the Normans under Count Ruggero d’Altavilla. But he is in favor of traders, artisans and the Muslim population, to continue to exercise their occupations freely. This led to the development of art and architecture in the Arab-Norman style.

In the XIII century, Palermo and Sicily were taken over by Frederick II of Swabia (1212).

From the fifteenth to the seventeenth century Sicily became an Aragonese province governed by a viceroy. Its institutions, culture and customs have been modeled on the Spaniards.

In 1735 the Spaniards regained power under Charles of Bourbon and Sicily again became governed by a viceroy. In 1815 the Congress of Vienna is a crown of Naples and Palermo, as well as the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.

It lasted until 1860, when Garibaldi landed in Marsala with the Thousand and, after a plebiscite, Sicily was annexed to the newly established Kingdom of Italy.

One of the most important periods of Sicilian art was the extraordinary stylistic fusion represented by the Arab-Norman architecture.

In large churches the classical structure is combined with Byzantine decoration and Islamic form.