This photo journal features Palermo, the capital of Sicily. It is the 1st of two in the Palermo series.

SICILY

"To have seen Italy without seeing Sicily is not to have seen Italy at all." (Goethe)

Sicily, the largest island in the Mediterranean, has an exotic appeal that sets it apart from mainland Italy. Because the island held a deep fascination for ancient civilizations, a shocking total of 16 foreign conquerors have touched, changed & marked the Sicilian landscape & soul, making it a fascinating "melting pot" of ancient cultures & peoples. Each conquest left its mark & made Sicily a unique & distinct entity from the rest of Italy.

First it was the Greeks & the Romans, then the Arabs & Normans, & finally, the French, Spanish & Italians, who contributed to an unparalleled historical legacy. Not only did they leave an abundance of art, architecture & archaeological remains, but they also transformed the landscape, fashioned the cultural eccentricities, influenced the mixed appearance of the inhabitants, & shaped the social attitudes unique to Sicily & the Sicilians.

The conquerors came for Sicily's wealth, her breathtaking beauty, her fertile valleys, & her enviable climate, but they often left behind more devastation than gifts. Yet today, Sicily boasts the world's largest & best-preserved Greek temples at Argrigento, Selinunte & Segeste (we went to the first 2). The Romans shaped the island's rolling hills when they cut down large tracts of the forest to cultivate wheat to feed the rest of the Roman Empire. The Arabs transformed Palermo into one of the most flourishing cosmopolitan places in the world, & left behind oranges & lemons. From the Norman's brief rule, Sicily inherited an incredible legacy of art & architecture as seen in their cathedrals & castles. The Spaniards' sense of grandeur & passion for the visual, & their love for splendor & external elegance, is painted widely across the island, especially in their Spanish Baroque architecture.

If the Sicilian landscape speaks powerfully about the civilizations that have colored the island's rich history, so does her food. It was the influence of the Arabs on Sicilian cooking which was the most important & the most enduring. The Greeks colonized & taught farming methods, & the Romans used Sicily as their breadbasket, but it was the Arabs who brought food traditions that still affect Sicilian cooking today. They introduced sophisticated methods of irrigation that made vegetable farming possible; they brought the omnipresent eggplant, cuos-cous, oranges & lemons, sweets & ice-cream, candied fruit & raisins. And most importantly, it is said that it was the Arabs who invented pasta! The hot Sicilian sun & the rich lava-fed soil influences the taste, a taste that is deeper & more intense than any other land. The land gives life, but so too does the sea around Sicily, providing an abundance of fish, a mainstay in the Sicilian diet & cuisine along the coastlines.

So, in addition to spectacular Greek ruins & temples, Sicily offers medieval quarters & baroque towns & palaces, charming hill towns & fishing villages, ancient amphitheaters, breathtaking cathedrals, not to mention a rugged coastline, the evocative Mt. Etna volcano, & of course, Sicilian cuisine, one of Italy's most varied.

More info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicily

and here: http://www.bestofsicily.com/sights.htm

PALERMO: The city of Palermo, in the NW corner of the island, is the capital of Sicily & its primary port. It's not your typical European city, or even an Italian one for that matter. In fact, its residents are often quick to point out, "We're Sicilian -- not Italian."

Palermo is old, & in spite of certain "beauty marks," it looks it. Palermo’s ancient & medieval historical district is one of the largest in Europe. It is full of references to the past & reflects the diverse history of the region. Because of this diverse history, the architecture here is a jumble of historic periods & styles ranging from Romanesque, Gothic, & Renaissance, to Moorish & sumptuous Arab–Norman. (It is said that Palermo's Arab-Norman buildings have no equal on the planet.) In fact, southern Italy's entire historical legacy exists along one kilometer of Corso Calatafimi in Palermo. Here you will find a Phoenician-Carthaginian cemetery, Roman homes, Norman palaces, & Baroque churches. It’s likely that no other street in Europe boasts a heritage so ancient & so varied. And this medieval city, which once had the most multiracial population in Europe, still remains an exotic mixture of many cultures. Its street scenes are frenetic, reminiscent of Tangier or Algiers, & its outdoor markets, which also evoke North Africa, are still dominated by the influence of the Arabs who departed centuries ago.

Unfortunately allied bombs destroyed the port & much of the center in 1943, but restoration of the city finally began in 1993 & is progressing slowly. The city also suffered a great deal from the bad reputation of the Mafia (Cosa Nostra) which had its headquarters in Palermo for a long time. Today’s visitors to the city need not worry though. Palermo is safer than it has been in ages, & savvy travelers can't get enough of the place, making the most of this beautiful city before mass tourism destroys its unique character.

Palermo is an urban paradox, & there's no other Italian city quite like it. It's a mixture of panache & poverty, a place of beauty that is hideously ugly in places. Life here can be challenging. Water is rationed, air pollution is bad, traffic often comes to a complete halt for hours, & protests often block central streets, although these "mini-revolutions" are invariably over by lunchtime. However, despite such inconveniences, Palermo remains a jewel of the Mediterranean.

Some history: Palermo was founded & settled as a port in the 8th century BC by the Phoenicians. Over the ensuing centuries, Palermo played host to what seemed like never-ending armies of invaders, & it still bears the imprint of its these former conquerors. After the city fell to the Arabs in 831, Palermo became one of the Muslim world's most splendid cities, surpassed only by Baghdad, & one of the great emporiums of the Mediterranean with splendid mosques & sumptuous palaces which rivaled Cairo in Egypt or Córdoba in Spain.

Palermo also flourished during the ensuing Norman period which began in 1072. Between 1130 & 1154, the city entered its golden age, with Muslims, Christians, & Jews living in harmony & prosperity. Palermo became the capital of the Holy Roman Empire in 1208, but that period ended in 1266 when the French came to the throne, launching a despotic rule that ended in the rebellion of 1282. In the aftermath, the Spanish came into power, & since they preferred Naples over Palermo as a capital, their departure created a power vacuum that was filled with feudal families & religious orders.

Palermo never regained the power & prestige it enjoyed in its long-ago heyday. The city's decay & decline stretched on for centuries. Then an even worse disaster occurred in 1943 when the city was targeted for massive bombardments by Allied air forces stationed in North Africa. In the aftermath of the war, Palermo was reconstructed haphazardly & they’re still not finished. And in the postwar years, the city's name became synonymous for the Mafia & corruption. And while the odious influence has largely been dealt with, there are likely still plenty of aging Godfather types hiding out behind closely guarded compounds. More Mafia history available here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mafia

Now that the city’s long preoccupation with cleansing itself of the Mafia has abated, it has finally realized the greatness of its architectural heritage, & interest in restoration has at long last arrived. So there is renewed hope for Palermo.

More info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palermo