Long ravaged after the bombings of the Second World War, Palermo’s renaissance has been long overdue. Until the turn of the millennium, much of the Sicilian capital had remained in a dilapidated condition, abandoned by its people and infamous as the backdrop to mafia family rivalries. A series of art installations and exhibitions held in the old town between the early Noughties and the 2018 Manifesta festival, gradually lured people back into the Centro Storico and these days, Palermo is breathing again. This year, locals are reporting a record number of travel bookings that can be attributed in part to the ‘White Lotus effect’ after the evocative HBO drama that has brought scenic images of Sicily to TV screens worldwide since 2022.
While in the past, Palermo saw Ancient Greeks, Arabs and Normans invade and add to its cultural diversity – not to mention its impressive architecture and still-thriving street food scene – it’s now proving to be just as welcoming to those foreign to the island. Here’s how to best experience the city in a weekend. Ensure to pack loose clothing, the Palermitan food scene requires a keen appetite.
Take a cooking class
The breadth and diversity of Sicilian cuisine is enough to dedicate an entire book to thanks to the conquering groups that have passed through the island over the past 1,000 years. Palermo has the Muslim conquest of Sicily in the 9th century to thank for much of its current food offering, from the arancini (deep fried risotto balls) that can be found in bars on almost every corner of the city to Palermo’s most famous dessert, the Cassata Siciliana, originating from the Arabic word al qassati.
Stroll the markets of Capo and Ballaro for foodie souvenirs and book a knowledgeable street food guide like Giorgo at Palermo Street Food for a deeper dive into the historical significance of the cosmopolitan city’s street food scene complete with tastings.
If you’re looking to get a little more hands-on, take a cooking class with Duchess Nicoletta Polo Lanza Tomasi. The Duchess of Palma, Nicoletta Polo Lanza Tomasi – daughter-in-law of Italy’s most famous author, Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, who wrote The Leopard – is no ordinary aristocrat. She might well be the lady of a 17th Century palazzo, standing tall on Palermo’s promenade but that doesn’t stop her from rubbing shoulders with market sellers at the local market. “Unfortunately, a modern Duchess doesn’t have time to sit around painting her nails,” she says, picking out fish for her cooking class at the cacophonous Capo Market.
Representative of a new Palermo, one that is all about inclusivity, Tomasi runs a Sicilian cooking workshop out of the palace in which Lampedusa once sat to write The Leopard. “I love Palermitan cooking and our street food is some of the best in Europe,” she says. So the class begins at rowdy Capo Market and ends with a grand lunch in the palace, featuring her favourite Sicilian dishes. No airs and graces. Just simple, good food, with a stunning backdrop.
Perhaps the most decadent cooking class you can take in Palermo is held at Sicily’s most luxurious hotel, Villa Igiea. Here, a highly skilled pastry chef will take you through the process of making Palermo’s most prized dessert, the Cassata Siciliana; a sponge cake layered with ricotta cheese and candied fruit, moistened with fruit juice.
Stroll the city
Once dusk falls on the Sicilian capital, locals take to the streets for the passegiata – an evening stroll that sees Via Maqueda and Vittoria Emmanuelle fill with Sicilians from the surrounding towns. Now the bars and restaurants that line these streets spill with people and the squares of the city pulse with music and a youthful energy – all set to a backdrop of crumbling Arab architecture and Baroque grandeur.
Palermo’s architecture – a mix of Norman, Arab and Gothic influences – is the most arresting thing about the city, making almost every corner photogenic. The Baroque Square of Quattro Canti, where the two major arteries of the old town, Via Maqueda and Vittoria Emmanuelle meet is the intersection of all four of the ancient parts of the city and undeniably the most beautiful part of town. Here, the 16th Century Piazza Pretoria – also known as the Square of Shame for its scandalous statuary – was most recently used as a location for a Dolce & Gabbana fashion show.
Stroll for a few minutes more and you’ll come across the three, faded red domed roofs of San Cataldo. The church is cited on UNESCO’s Arab-Norman Palermo listing for its mashrabiya screens and intricately carved stonework, and is an arresting example of architecture inspired by the Islamic masters that made Palermo their home many centuries ago.
At the height of summer, head to Palermo’s lush botanical gardens and escape the heat in the shade of its dramatic tropical and subtropical flora. Just beyond the gardens at Piazza Marina, a weekly antiques market happens every Sunday morning, offering the perfect place to pick up a little piece of Sicily to take home with you, from vintage postcards to art, books and local ceramics.
Where to eat
The chaos of Sicily’s multi-ethnic make-up has influenced the way people dine in Palermo. The city is known in all of Italy for its street food, best found on the markets at Capo, Vucciria and Ballaro. Elsewhere at Focacceria del Massimo, dining is like walking in on a heated Sicilian discussion. Customers yell out their order, the chefs, hovering over huge vats of pasta yell back and in between, people walk in and out balancing plates piled with various contorni - roasted vegetables, swordfish rolls, parmigiana di melanzane. The food here is delicious and hearty but the real draw is the experience. Similarly, Trattoria Bersaegliere tucked into a quiet street behind Ballaro market delivers on Sicilian classics like pasta con le sarde – sardine spaghetti spiked with raisins, pine nuts, anchovies and sweet fennel. The dining is no frills but the food is bounteous and rich in flavour.
For a more refined experience head to Osteria Dei Vespri in the atmospheric Piazza Croce dei Vespri and dine al fresco on a tasting menu that showcases the seasonal ingredients native to the island, from smoked mackerel, fennel and wild orange salads to traditional homemade aneletti pasta with octopus ragu.
Since the Arabs brought sugar, almonds and pistachios to the island, Sicilians have had a love affair with all things saccharine. Antico Caffé Spinnato is the place to indulge in a decent espresso and the city’s most famous sweet treat – the cannolo, a tube of crunchy fried pastry injected with creamy, sugar-mixed ricotta and topped with candied fruit. It’s never too late in the day to order an espresso in Palermo. If you’re looking to pick up a selection of pastries to take away with you, Pasticceria Costa is one of the oldest patisseries in the city, its rows of marzipan fruits, iced cassatine and cannoli displayed behind glass like precious gems in a jewellers.
Go out after dark
You’re more likely to find a party on the street in Palermo over any bar or club. Palermitans prefer to enjoy their aperitivo hour out in the open. That’s not on a rooftop bar or fancy courtyard – but in grand old piazzas like Piazza Sant’Anna or at Vucciria, a fruit and veg market by day, late night dancing spot by night. On any given evening, you’ll find live music or a party on the streets of Centro Storico so don’t be tempted to have an early night. Contrary to what you might expect, things only really start heating up in this city after sundown.
Where to sleep
One of two luxury Rocco Forte properties in Sicily, Villa Igiea (meaning villa of health in Ancient Greek) was originally built as a sanatorium by the illustrious Florio family, in honour of their ailing daughter. Since the early 1900s, the grand palazzo has hosted the likes of Maria Callas and Grace Kelly, along with British Royalty. Sitting beneath the lush hills of Mount Pellegrino just on the outskirts of Palermo, the hotel marries original art nouveau interiors with contemporary home comforts – a luxury bolthole for cooling off in a fresh Tyrhennian sea breeze after sightseeing in the city.