23 Facts About Palermo

Palermo is a city in southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province.

Palermo is in the northwest of the island of Sicily, by the Gulf of Palermo in the Tyrrhenian Sea.

Palermo is the main Sicilian industrial and commercial center: the main industrial sectors include tourism, services, commerce and agriculture.

Palermo currently has an international airport, and a significant underground economy.

Palermo is home to a natural port and offers excellent views to the sea, especially from Monte Pellegrino.

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Palermo is surrounded by mountains, which form a cirque around the city.

Palermo has a large architectural heritage and is notable for its many Norman buildings.

Palermo has at least two rings of city walls, many pieces of which still survive.

The reason for Palermo's decline is a population flight to the suburbs, and to Northern Italy.

Palermo came into contact with the Ancient Greeks between the 6th and the 5th centuries BC which preceded the Sicilian Wars, a conflict fought between the Greeks of Syracuse and the Phoenicians of Carthage for control over the island of Sicily.

Palermo was the preferred city of the Emperor Frederick II.

From 1479 until 1713 Palermo was ruled by the Kingdom of Spain, and again between 1717 and 1718.

However, Palermo had become just another provincial city as the Royal Court resided in Naples.

The majority of Sicilians preferred independence to annexation to the Savoy kingdom; in 1866, Palermo became the seat of a week-long popular rebellion, which was finally crushed after martial law was declared.

The reduced importance of agriculture in the Sicilian economy has led to a massive migration to the cities, especially Palermo, which swelled in size, leading to rapid expansion towards the north.

Palermo was home to the grand depart of the 2008 Giro d'Italia.

Internazionali Femminili di Palermo is an annual ladies professional tennis event held in the city, which is part of the WTA Tour.

Palermo has a local railway called the Palermo metropolitan railway service.

Palermo has a public tram system finalized in 2015 and operated by AMAT.

Palermo is a key intersection on the Sicilian road network, being the junction between the eastern A19 motorway to Trapani, the southeastern A29 to airport and Mazara del Vallo and the southwestern A19 to Catania and A20 to Messina.

Inside the Port of Palermo there is a section known as "tourist marina" for sailing yachts and catamarans.

Main railway station of Palermo is Palermo Centrale which links to the other cities of Sicily, including Agrigento, Trapani and Catania, and through Messina and the strait to the rest of Italy.

The Orto botanico di Palermo is home to the university's Department of Botany and is open to visitors.