Southern Loop of Palermo's historic center - UNESCO World Heritage (city guide)

Together with Palermo Cathedral , la Cappella Palatina , the Palazzo Reale , la Chiesa di S. Giovanni degli Eremiti , the Chiesa Santa Maria dell'Ammiraglio (Martorana) and the adjacent Chiesa di San Cataldo , the Palazzo della Zisa and the Ponte dell 'Ammiraglio is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site in Palermo, next to the Cathedral of Monreale and Cathedral of Cefalù which are located just outside Palermo in Sicily.

The intention is to visit the historic center including the buildings that belong to the UNESCO World Heritage in 2 days . This is the first part describing the northern loop. The first part with the northern loop can be found here.

The two loops , which you can see as an 8, touch each other in the beautiful Piazza Pretoria with its impressive fountain.

Parking is available in the Orlando car park , a spacious underground car park in the centre. You can also start from the station , where the route passes very close.

We start along one of the oldest gates in Palermo, the Porta Carini , and walk through the historic Capo market past some churches and monasteries. The Chiesa di Sant'Agostino has a cloister from the sixteenth century. A little further on is the Teatro Nuovo Montevergini located in the old monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie di Montevergini. The Palazzo Riso, located further away, houses the Museum of Contemporary Art.

We continue walking towards what may well be the highlight of the day: the Piazza Pretoria and Piazza Bellini . First we visit the Fontana Pretoria, Quattro Canti and the Chiesa di San Giuseppe dei Padri Teatini with its impressive interior. Together with the UNESCO World Heritage Site Chiesa Santa Maria dell'Ammiraglio (Martorana) and the adjacent Chiesa di San Cataldo, many impressive buildings are located close together.

We take a detour to the Chiesa del Gesù di Casa Professa, because this church certainly represents the most important example of Baroque art in Palermo. If you want, you can walk along Via Giuseppe Garibaldi to the Palazzo Ajutamicristo . It has a particularly interesting ballroom with a frescoed ceiling.

We walk past churches and monasteries to the sea, where the 14th century Porta dei Greci was one of the entrances to the city center. We arrive at Villa Giulia with its beautiful garden which is the first public garden in Italy , and houses one of the eight fountains of genius of the city. Next to it is the botanical garden , of exceptional importance at European level.

We now walk to the Ponte dell'Ammiraglio or Admiral's Bridge, the first masonry bridge built in all of Europe and also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Through the Porta di Vicari, one of the oldest gates in Palermo, you continue to the Torre di San Nicolò di Bari. This is one of the highest in the city and can be climbed. Continuing past the beautiful Chiesa di San Francesco Saverio we come to the Chiesa di San Giovanni degli Eremiti and the adjacent Convento Benedettino , both of which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites .

We continue past the Parco d'Orleans, an interesting ornithological park and go through the park of Piazza Independenza with its obelisk. We now walk around the Palazzo Reale o dei Normanni (Royal Palace) within which lies the Cappella Palatina , both UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

We will pass through the Porta Nuova, one of the most representative examples of triumphal architecture and pass through the urban park of Villa Bonanno.

We spend the rest of the day on the cathedral square with the Statua di Santa Rosalia and a view of the facades of the Archbishop's Palace and the Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary. We walk around the cathedral and from the Piazza Sette Angeli see the apse facade of the enormous presbytery, a beautiful example of lava inlay decoration.

After this highlight of the day, we still have a short walk back to the starting point.

This city walk is part of a series of city walks and tours that depart from Balestrate and Sambucco di Sicilia and are described in "Discover all the sights of western Sicily through day trips"

Be sure to consult the information about the sights once you are there . They explain what you will see!

06/2023